You have a special role because you care for children, and you care about children. Concerns of families and children surface every day in your world. You have a special reason to become aware of public policy issues facing children and their families.
Most people only become involved in policies when they have individual problems.
Multiply these by the number of children and families in your community, and know that the problem is actually a community problem. Multiply regulations and policies that affect child care by the number of child care programs and know that the issue in reality is a business problem. In both cases, the issues have become larger than personal . . . Anyway, other people make the decisions. You are a contributing professional with special knowledge and linkages.