The Center for Public Justice (CPJ) hosted its 26th Annual Kuyper Lecture, delivered by Rachel Hope Anderson, J.D.  on the topic “Who’s Caring for Children?” on Thursday, November 16.

Rachel Anderson presented on the unique challenges, possible solutions, and pathways forward for faith-based child care in the United States. Often, parents are the only ones to bear the financial responsibility for their children, who are a blessing and benefit to our entire society. Families form the backbone of our communities, but with skyrocketing child care costs and limited avenues for acquiring funding, parents are faced with difficult choices. Rachel Anderson explained where we can step in to help these caregivers.

Rachel Hope Anderson (Hope& Consulting) has extensive experience at the intersection of faith and early childhood policy. She founded and serves as strategic advisor to the Families Valued program at the Center for Public Justice and served as the Primary Investigator for CPJ’s three state studies on faith-based child care. Previously, she served as the director of faith affairs at the Center for Responsible Lending where she formed and led a cross-ideological religious coalition to rein in predatory payday lending. Ms. Anderson brings a background in community organizing, advocacy, and spiritual formation to her consulting work and is committed to the practice of pluralism—helping those with deep differences to work together with mutual respect toward a shared common good. She is a graduate of Harvard Law and Divinity Schools.

Ms. Anderson’s remarks were followed by a discussion featuring Dr. Stanley Carlson-Thies, Founder and Senior Director of the Institutional Religious Freedom Alliance at the Center for Public Justice.