Movement and Solidarity: Community Mobilization to Mitigate the Adverse Impact of COVID-19 on Families with Young Children Receiving Care from Early Childhood Systems

ABSTRACT Emerging research indicates an immense burden on children and families related to the COVID-19 pandemic. This study uses data from semi-structured interviews and focus groups with early childhood service providers (n=19) to demonstrate the pandemic's impact on families with very young children and early childhood services in two high-need communities in Massachusetts, USA. We found that although the pandemic has worsened existing inequities and severely limited resources for young children and families, community mobilization in response to the crisis and innovative strategies stemming from resilience were developed quickly. Findings highlight the usefulness of early childhood systems of care in crisis responses and leveraging public-private cooperation to serve the needs of diverse families with young children. Lessons learned are applicable to global settings with high pre-pandemic inequities and can be used to develop stronger models of crisis response within the early childhood sector in preparation for future crises.