10 Infrastructure Investments Cities Must Make for Children and Families in 2026

As we look toward 2026, the question for civic and corporate leaders isn’t whether children and families should be a priority. It’s whether we’re willing to treat them as essential infrastructure.

Infrastructure isn’t only roads and buildings. It’s the systems, people, data, and partnerships that make daily life possible. For children and families, that infrastructure is often fragmented, underfunded, and overly dependent on individual programs rather than durable systems.

Based on what we’re seeing across cities, nonprofits, philanthropy, and employers, here are 10 infrastructure shifts shaping the future of children and families, and how leaders should be investing their efforts now.

1. Digital infrastructure becomes operational backbone.
   Cities will invest in shared data systems, eligibility platforms, and real-time dashboards that reduce friction for families and staff alike.

2. Family support is treated as integrated infrastructure.
   Child care, housing stability, food access, and transportation will be designed and funded as connected systems, not siloed services.

3. Mental and behavioral health are embedded into core systems.
   Support will live inside schools, after-school programs, and family hubs rather than in parallel systems that are hard to reach.

4. Out-of-school time is funded as safety and learning infrastructure.
   Leaders will align investments with the reality that children spend most of their time outside classrooms, where trusted adults and safe spaces matter most.

5. Public-private compacts formalize shared responsibility.
   Cities and employers will move from pilots to long-term agreements that stabilize care and support workforce participation.

6. Flexible dollars become critical infrastructure.
   Funding mechanisms will be designed to bridge transitions between programs and prevent families from falling off financial cliffs.

7. Data governance becomes leadership infrastructure.
   Cities will invest in the policies, staffing, and agreements required to responsibly share data across systems.

8. The care and youth-serving workforce is recognized as essential infrastructure.
   Compensation, career pathways, and stability will be treated as prerequisites for system performance.

9. Equity is operationalized through internal systems.
   Budgets, procurement, and performance management will be redesigned to reduce barriers and improve outcomes, not just state intentions.

10. Children and families anchor economic infrastructure strategy.
    Leaders will recognize that workforce participation, public safety, and long-term fiscal health depend on how well families are supported.

For leaders, this work isn’t just about external investment. It’s about internal infrastructure. The way teams are structured, decisions are made, data is shared, and accountability is built determines whether strategies succeed or stall.

At Piñon, we partner with civic and corporate leaders to strengthen both external systems and internal infrastructure, helping organizations align strategy, funding, and operations around what it truly takes for children and families to thrive.

If you’re thinking about how to invest your leadership effort and your organization’s infrastructure for 2026, let’s schedule time to connect and explore what durable change could look like in your community.