TOOTRiS Summit to gather child care leaders from 40+ states in San Diego

More than 250 child care and early childhood leaders from over 40 states and Washington, D.C., will meet in San Diego Sept. 14-16 for TOOTRiS WINGS Summit 2026. The event aims to surface practical ways to stretch limited resources, expand partnerships and improve child care access as costs rise and demand grows.

Why it matters: - Child care systems are under pressure from higher costs, tight public funding and growing demand from working families. - Reliable child care affects whether parents can stay in the workforce, whether providers can keep operating and whether employers can keep workers on the job. - Public agencies are being pushed to make every dollar and partnership deliver more impact.

What happened: - More than 250 child care and early childhood leaders from over 40 states and Washington, D.C., will gather in San Diego for the 2026 WINGS Summit. - TOOTRiS is hosting the three-day event Sept. 14-16 at the Coronado Island Marriott Resort in San Diego, California. - Attendance is expected to more than triple from last year’s inaugural summit. - The summit will focus on turning limited resources into greater impact for children, families, providers and the workforce.

The details: - Leaders from Child Care Resource & Referral agencies, state child care systems, early childhood organizations and community partnerships will discuss funding, employer partnerships, technology, AI, data, provider engagement and cross-sector collaboration. - Featured speakers include Tom Rivellini, a former NASA/JPL engineer who helped pioneer the Mars landing system for Spirit and Opportunity. - Other speakers include Captain Jim “Guido” DiMatteo, a veteran TOPGUN instructor and fighter pilot, and Brian Westpoint, an AI strategist and innovation leader. - A CEO conversation will feature Michelle Kang of the National Association for the Education of Young Children, Susan Gale Perry of Child Care Aware of America and Alessandra Lezama of TOOTRiS. - The discussion will center on innovation, technology and what comes next for child care systems nationwide. - The WINGS Innovation Awards will give six finalists a chance to pitch grassroots solutions to challenges facing families, providers and communities. - Summit attendees will vote on the winners. - More than $10,000 in funding and support will go to help advance the winning ideas. - Chris Cate, president and CEO of the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce, will welcome attendees.

Between the lines: - Child Care Aware of America found that in most states with available data, child care subsidy rates fall below market prices and the actual cost of care. - The First Five Years Fund says 65% of children age five and under have all available parents in the workforce. - The summit is designed to connect local solutions with national-scale needs, especially where technology and partnerships can stretch scarce resources. - TOOTRiS is positioning the event as a place to share practical ideas already working inside communities and spread them more widely. - San Diego leaders are framing child care as an economic issue as much as a family issue.

What's next: - Attendees will use the summit to compare approaches, test ideas and build partnerships that can be applied after the event. - The Innovation Awards could help move grassroots child care solutions from concept to broader implementation. - The full agenda and event information are available on the TOOTRiS WINGS Summit 2026 website.

The bottom line: - The WINGS Summit is aiming to turn a national child care crisis into a working session on practical fixes, with leaders betting that better coordination, technology and local innovation can do more with less.