This report proposes allowing parents to advance future child tax credits into the earliest years of their child’s life, giving them greater choice in how to raise their young children. Our proposal aims to help two groups of parents. The first is parents who choose or need to work outside the home but lack access to high-quality childcare. By providing families with earlier access to already-committed taxpayer resources, the proposal allows them to better obtain the nonparental care that serves the best interests of their young child’s development. The second group is parents who want to spend more time caring for their young children themselves, instead of placing them in nonparental, out-of-home care. For many children, their own home is the best early environment for supporting their healthy development. (author abstract)