Children's Champions - March 23, 2018

Early this morning, Congress delivered on the budget deal and passed a bipartisan-supported FY18 spending bill, which the President signed just moments ago. We are delighted to be able to share the great news that it includes a $2.4 billion increase for the Child Care and Development Block Grant!

Those with eagle eyes will note that the original deal had been struck at $2.9 billion, but the $2.4 billion increase remains the largest in history, and we are celebrating it, along with some other highlights: a $610 million increase for Head Start; $299 million increase for Part B and C of IDEA; $35 million increase for CCAMPIS to support child care for student parents; sustained funding for year-round Pell grants; and a one-time fix to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program that expands eligibility to (some) additional borrowers (stay tuned for more).

Help Spread the Word!

Get your Twitter action going by using and adapting these sample tweets:

• What are you doing today? I’m celebrating the BIGGEST increase in #childcare funding in history! #ECEWins #ChildCareNOW #ChildCare4All
• I joined #childcare & #earlylearning advocates from @NAEYC to fight for funding that would help children, families, & educators. Today, our hard work paid off when Congress passed a bill increasing #CCDBG funding by $2.4 BILLION dollars! #ECEWins #ChildCareNOW @NWLC @MomsRising
• With a $2.4 billion increase in #CCDBG, states can begin to expand access, support families and prioritize quality by investing in the #ECE workforce. That’s how #ECEWins!
• Let’s celebrate the $2.4 billion increase in #CCDBG, a significant investment & major down payment on the Child Care for Working Families Act! @PattyMurray @BobbyScott #Childcare4All #ChildCareNOW #ECEWins
• This week, Congress increased funding for #childcare AND #HeadStart. Children, families, and educators will benefit. And when #ECEWins, we all win! #ChildCare4All
• RT if you’ve struggled to find & afford high-quality #childcare. Because if you have, you know that more investment in #earlyed, which helps parents work & children learn, is a big deal. Thanks, Congress. Let’s keep it going! #ChildCare4All #ChildCareNOW #ECEWins

Thanks To You

We are so proud of and grateful for all of your emails, visits, and calls, your dedication and hard work, inside and outside of your classrooms and homes, with your legislators, and on Capitol Hill, where the timing of Congressional visits during our 2018 Public Policy Forum could not have been better (Miss the 2018 PPF recap? Check it out here!).

When more children and families have access to child care next year; and an educator gets a raise because her reimbursement rate went up; and quality efforts are boosted; and states can begin to fulfill their obligations under the law, we hope you will know that you had a hand in making all of that happen.

Details of the Deal

Here is the text of the language on CCDBG from Congress; it outlines what they expect states will be doing with the additional dollars:

The agreement includes a $2,370,000,000 increase for the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) Act. It is expected that this increase will support the full implementation of the CCDBG Act as reauthorized in 2014, including activities to improve the quality and safety of child care programs, increasing provider reimbursement rates, and ensuring health and safety standards are met. The Department should work with States to ensure they are fully in compliance with, and meeting the goals of, the CCDBG Act. Further, the Department should work with States to ensure they are aware of the availability of funds under current law to make minor improvements to facilities to bring them into compliance with health and safety requirements and improve professional development for the child care workforce. Finally, the Department should work with States to ensure they are meeting the needs of families with non-traditional work hours. The funding will also increase access to affordable, high-quality child care to more low-income, working families.

What’s Next?

Your advocacy will be critical in the coming period, as states make decisions about how to prioritize the spending of these new dollars. In addition to expanding access and implementing policies that support continuity and consistency for families, NAEYC is recommending that states take this opportunity to prioritize quality by investing in the early childhood education workforce. In addition, we hope you will help your state consider leveraging the federal increase to make their own additional, supplementary investments, which do not supplant TANF funding, but rather build on existing dollars to expand access and increase quality.

What Else?

• Want to know what to make of the National Academies of Medicine’s report on “Transforming the Financing of Early Care and Education?” Read this statement from the National Power to the Profession Task Force!
• Interested in how states included early learning in their plans for the implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)? Check out this new resource from our friends at the First Five Years Fund.
• We are celebrating the 20th Anniversary of The Abbott Preschool Program! Take a look at the New Jersey's Abbott Preschool Success Story video that depicts the outcome of a funded and supported state early learning system and highlights two early learning programs that are proudly NAEYC Accredited!
• #ICYMI: Check out this Facebook Live event from our partners at Bolder Advocacy on how your 501c3 can respond and remain nonpartisan in this election year.

We want to close by recognizing the passing of Dr. T. Berry Brazelton. To many of us, at NAEYC and in the early childhood field, Dr. Brazelton was an influential thinker and beloved presence who profoundly shaped how we understand young children’s development and learning. Read our tribute.