Barriers to early childhood education for Black families and calls for equitable solutions from a qualitative study using peer researchers and an antiracist lens

• Idealized notions of the ECE experiences Black parents wanted diverged from their experiences. • Black parents face racialized administrative burdens to access quality childcare. • Free, universal childcare is an equitable policy solution desired by Black families. • Black families want their children to be safe, loved, and nurtured in childcare. • Parents and educators desire one connected system for enrollment. Racial disparities in early care education (ECE) utilization and quality continue to persist in the United States and have considerable implications throughout the life course. This study applied a population health framework and an antiracist lens to conduct peer-led qualitative interviews (n = 20) and facilitate community synthesis and design sessions (n = 6) with parents, ECE staff, and thought leaders. The goal was to better understand: (1) the barriers to enrollment faced by Black families seeking high-quality ECE experiences and (2) potential policy and system interventions to increase access and equity. Three key themes emerged: 1) idealized notions of what Black parents wanted for their children in ECE settings diverged from their actual experiences; 2) there were significant racialized administrative burdens or hoops to jump through to access ECE; and 3) participants cited positive and negative experiences with home-visiting programs to foster child development. Black participants expressed reservations about engaging with these programs based partly on previous discriminatory experiences and/or negative first- or second-hand experiences with state-mandated home visits from social services. The findings from this study make a significant contribution to the literature on barriers to high-quality ECE programs that Black families experience and community-identified policy solutions to address disparities. The system and policy solutions to these racial disparities in ECE enrollment cocreated by parents, ECE staff and the research team are discussed.