Jonathan Cohn will receive the 2014 Hillman Prize for Magazine Journalism for “The Hell of American Daycare,” which exposed the national pattern of under-regulation when it comes to child care options, particularly for low-income parents.
The most dramatic part of Cohn’s piece, and his central anecdote, is the story of five children killed in a fire at a Houston daycare. The licensed daycare provider had left the stove on while she went to Target.
He asked one Texas child care regulator how many of the state’s licensed providers she would trust her own children with? “Twenty percent,” was the answer.
Cohn’s piece, which was published in April of 2013 by New Republic, also shines a light on early childhood development research, and profiles the ways in which France and the U.S. military bases have better addressed the issue of quality child care.
The Hillman Prizes are awarded by The Sidney Hillman Foundation, which was established in 1946 and supports “investigative reporting and deep storytelling in service of the common good.”
Click here to read Cohn’s article. Click here to see a list of all the winners.