By any reckoning, we live in an extraordinary political moment, and the impact of these tumultuous times on young children in Maryland and nationwide remains to be seen.
At the dawn of the single largest funding increase in the history of the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG), here are five ways states can spend the funds to further the dual purposes of child care as both a work support and a child development support.
Governor Tom Wolf set the tone in his budget request by increasing state investments in early learning, and legislators from both sides of the aisle came together to prioritize Pennsylvania’s children in the 2017-18 state budget.
On August 14, Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner signed into law HB2663, legislation aimed at ending the practice of expelling infants, toddlers, and preschoolers from their early childhood programs.
Recently passed state budgets include some wins for infants, toddlers, and their families. We applaud policymakers and advocates across the country and encourage everyone to continue to Think Babies™.
Due to budget uncertainties at the state and federal level, states are exploring opportunities to maximize investments through a variety of sources in order to maintain and expand evidence-based home visiting programs.
Over the past few years we have seen increased leadership from California legislators on early learning including from the Assembly Speaker, the Senate Budget Chair - both former early learning providers from Los Angeles - and the Women’s Caucus.
Recently, the District of Columbia established new regulations that require all lead teachers in licensed child care programs to have an Associate’s degree by 2020.
