U.S. — Project 2029, a collection of recommendations by think tanks, former Democratic staffers, and other progressive figures, proposes a federal child care plan offering families either free public daycare slots or a $1,000 monthly stipend per child under age 5. Chad Maisel directs the initiative and serves as a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, a left-leaning think tank. Maisel previously advised President Joseph Biden and Senator Cory Booker. Tara McGuinness, founder of a research lab at the New America Foundation, co-authored the child care plan. The project seeks to influence Democratic political platforms.

The plan specifies that children from families at all income levels would be eligible for free daycare seats. Eligibility for the $1,000 monthly stipend would be limited to families earning less than $400,000 annually. The stipend is designed to offset expenses or lost income when parents or relatives provide care. Under the proposal, states would establish networks of approved providers, including neighborhood centers, houses of worship, home-based providers, and schools.

"There's no getting out of where we are on child care without serious federal investment in the expansion of child-care capacity," McGuinness said. She added, "High quality child care cannot and should not be done on the cheap." The co-authors estimate the plan's annual cost at approximately $200 billion, a figure roughly equivalent to the $200 billion in income, productivity, and tax revenue they estimate is lost each year due to child care challenges.

The name Project 2029 references Project 2025, a policy manual from the conservative Heritage Foundation. According to Child Care Aware of America, the national average cost of child care reached $13,184 per child in 2025, a 23% increase over four years. An Associated Press/NORC study conducted last year found that 64% of respondents want the federal government to provide free or low-cost daycare for children too young for public school, with 76% of Democrats supporting such a measure.

Why It Matters

The proposal addresses rising child care costs, which averaged $13,184 per child nationally in 2025. The plan introduces a federal role in mitigating these costs, similar to universal pre-kindergarten programs in the District of Columbia, where enrollments for 3- and 4-year-olds reached 82% and 94%, respectively, in 2024. The initiative seeks to create a national framework for child care support, building on public desire for federal involvement.

By offering either free public daycare or a $1,000 monthly stipend, Project 2029 aims to ease financial burdens on families and potentially recover an estimated $200 billion annually in lost income, productivity, and tax revenue. The plan's authors indicate it would cost a similar amount per year. The proposal creates a pathway for states to develop their own networks of approved child care providers.