House Speaker Don Scott and Del. Adele McClure join parents and advocates for early childhood and access for a gathering in Richmond on Jan. 21, 2026. (Nathaniel Cline/Virginia Mercury)
Kaila Brewer, a Chesapeake mother and special education teacher, had to leave her job during the COVID-19 pandemic to care for her five-year-old son, who is autistic. Child care services were scarce at the time, and the few available could not accommodate her child’s special needs.
“It was extremely disheartening … I felt like my child was unwanted or pushed aside,” Brewer said…