Last week, hundreds of early childhood educators and advocates went to Capitol Hill as part of NAEYC’s Public Policy Forum to help their members of Congress understand the need for substantial, sustainable investments in child care and early learning. Yesterday, they saw that need recognized from the White House, as President Biden released a budget proposal that prioritizes major investments in early childhood education, in order to build child care supply, invest in educators, and put affordable, quality child care and early learning within reach of millions of families who need it.  

Along with increases in annual, discretionary funding for child care and Head Start, centerpieces of the proposed budget include proposals that recognize and reflect the scope and scale of the need on the ground, including:  

• $400 billion over ten years through a new “Affordable Child Care for America” program, that builds on CCDBG to ensure “more families can benefit, parents have more high-quality options, and providers are paid higher wages.” 
• $200 billion over ten years to expand access to free, high-quality, universal, mixed-delivery preschool.    

By also prioritizing investments in paid leave, preK-12 education, early intervention, free community college, child nutrition programs, child tax credits, Pell grants, scholarships, wraparound supports, broadband access, and more, this budget recognizes the importance of helping children, families, educators and our economy thrive.  

NAEYC is deeply grateful to the Administration and leaders in Congress who have stood up for and with early childhood educators. We now urge Congress to craft and pass legislation that invests in educators in order to expand access to quality, affordable child care and early learning, recognizing Americans’ strong bipartisan support for increasing investment in early childhood education for the good of our children, families, communities, and economy now and into the future. 

Send a message to your member of Congress to urge them to act today!