Maryland, like all states, has a unique early childhood policy landscape that is shaped by economics, demographics, political history, coalitions, and other factors that create a state-specific environment for policy advocacy.
State early childhood policy progress is dependent both on the state’s environment and the numerous efforts—by the organizations listed on this page, other organizations, parents, policymakers, practitioners, and more—who work both independently and collaboratively to achieve wins for young children.
Research shows that family economic security is foundational to children’s overall wellbeing. Research also shows that widespread disparities in opportunity (especially by race) drive wide disparities in outcomes. States with policies that offer strong support to young children and their families are more likely to see 1) declining numbers of children in low-income households and 2) low racial disparity among those children.
Young Children in Low-Income Households: Declining
Approximately 30% (188,000) of the state’s children 0-8 live in households below 200% FPL (2022). This number represents a decrease from 31% (199,000) in 2017.1
Racial Disparity Among Young Children Living in Low-Income Households: High
Black, Hispanic/Latino, and/or Native children aged 0-8 are significantly more likely to be living in households below 200% FPL than are Asian and non-Hispanic White children.2
State General Fund Appropriations: Growing
On May 16 Maryland Governor Wes Moore approved the state’s fiscal 2025 budget, which provides $63.1 billion in all funds appropriations, a decrease of $1.1 billion, or 1.8 percent, from the fiscal 2024 working appropriation. The budget includes $25.9 billion in general fund appropriations, a decrease of $1.5 billion, or 5.3 percent, compared to the fiscal 2024 working appropriation. The March 2024 revenue forecast estimates $24.9 billion in general fund revenues for fiscal 2025, an increase of 1.8 percent over fiscal 2024. Final legislative action on the budget leaves an estimated general fund cash balance of $109.7 million at the end of fiscal 2025 and a Rainy Day Fund balance of $2.3 billion.3
Key Revenue Sources:4
State Budget Rules:4
Maryland collects gambling fees that go into the Maryland Education Trust Fund. These funds are used to support prekindergarten programs as well as K–12 systems.
Political Alignment: Aligned Democratic
During the 2024 session, the state’s Senate and House were both Democrat controlled. The state’s Governor was also a Democrat.4
Types of Ballot Measures Available:5 Three
Key State Policy Advocacy Organizations Include:
Early Childhood Policy Advocacy Multi-State Initiatives Include:6
Highlights from the state’s early childhood policy advocacy community include:7
The Administration committed new state funds in the amounts of $218 million for FY 2024 and $270 million FY 2025 for the Child Care Scholarship Program (CCS). Each of these funding increases alone dwarfs the State’s largest prior single-year allocation, raising the FY 2025 CCS budget to $328.5 in State funds and $412.4 million from all sources. Even factoring in the huge influxes of federal COVID relief dollars that began in FY 2020 and have now been fully exhausted, the current allocation more than doubles the previous five-year average annual appropriation for CCS. The magnitude of this investment cannot be overstated. The Governor’s historic commitment to CCS validates and elevates the advocacy that MFN and its allies have conducted for decades. And it could not come at a better time for Maryland’s children, working families, and child care providers.
HB1139 provides funding for Growing Opportunities for Family Child Care (GOFCC) a pilot program established in 2021 that works to support the opening and sustained success of new family child care providers, whose numbers have experienced sharp decline. Advocates organized a key committee briefing to document GOFCC’s outstanding results, and subsequent budget action/parallel legislation won funding for this vital program for an additional two years.
Advocates helped draft and advance HB 1441, which establishes viable alternative pathways to pre-k certification that recognize experience-based criteria and build on providers’ strengths. The principle of “mixed delivery” is a cornerstone of pre-K expansion in Maryland, but the public private partnerships needed for mixed delivery to work have been hamstrung by certification barriers that prevent most high-quality child care programs from participating. The bill also introduces “hubs” to support professional development and provider participation.
On January 19, 2024, the Governor issued an Executive Order that reestablished the Governor’s Office for Children (GOC). The GOC will serve as a central coordinating office to support the well-being of children and families and reduce the number of children living in poverty.
Our lead ally in Maryland, Maryland Family Network (MFN), is a voice in Annapolis and Washington, D.C. making sure that the needs of young children and their families are a priority with lawmakers. They administer the state’s network of Family Support Centers and Child Care Resource Centers.
Maryland Family Network is working to advance early childhood policies in several areas that align with the Alliance’s birth-through-eight policy framework:
Child Care
Child Care Workforce
Preschool and Pre-K
Family Economic Security
Paid Family Leave
Data Systems
Early Childhood Finance and Cost Modeling
Maryland allies have been working relentlessly in support of the early childhood agenda contained in the massive “Blueprint for Maryland’s Future” bill and were elated when the legislation passed – with an override of the governor’s veto – in the 2021 session.
NOTES:
1 Kids Count Data Center, Annie E. Casey Foundation, Children Ages 0 to 8 Below 200 Percent Poverty, January, 2024.
2 National Center for Children in Poverty, Children Ages 0 to 8 Below 200 Percent Poverty, March 2023, NCCP analysis of ACS 1-Year Estimates – Public Use Microdata Sample 2021.
3 National Association of State Budget Officers, Proposed and Enacted Budgets, FY 2025.
4 Urban Institute, State Fiscal Briefs, June 2024.
5 National Conference of State Legislatures, 2024 State & Legislative Partisan Composition, April 29, 2024.
6 Ballotpedia, Ballot Measures by State, Kids Count Data Center, retrieved July, 2024.
7 Alliance for Early Success, Multi-State Initiatives for Early Childhood Policy Advocacy, July, 2024.
8 Alliance for Early Success, State-Wide Advocacy Highlights Survey, April-October, 2024; and 2024 Prenatal-to-3 Legislative Highlights, Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center, July, 2024.
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© 2024 Alliance for Early Success
The Alliance for Early Success does not endorse or advocate for specific legislation or candidates.
