Iowa

Iowa, 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.

2025 State Early Childhood Policy Environment and Progress

State early childhood policy progress is dependent both on the state’s policy environment and the numerous efforts — by those listed on this page and many others — who worked both independently and collaboratively to achieve wins for young children.

Early Childhood Landscape:

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 34% (113,000) of the state’s children 0-8 live in households below 200% of the Federal Poverty Level (2022). This number represents a decrease from 36% (128,000) 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% of the Federal Poverty Level than are Asian and non-Hispanic White children.²

(NOTE: Selecting for age 0-8, state, and race can yield small cell sizes that can make percentages less accurate. Bars marked with S indicate data with extremely small cell sizes, which is not displayed. Bars marked with C should be interpreted with caution. Though the cell sizes are larger, they still fall below a threshold of reliability.)

Advocacy Landscape:

State General Fund Appropriations: Growing

In June of 2025, Iowa’s governor finished acting on the various bills that comprise the fiscal 2026 budget. General fund appropriations total $9.42 billion in fiscal 2026, an increase of $478.9 million, or 5.4 percent, compared to fiscal 2025. General fund net receipts are estimated at $8.51 billion in fiscal 2026, a decrease of $626.7 million, or 6.9 percent, compared to fiscal 2025. The projected decline in revenue for fiscal 2026 is partly driven by previously approved tax cuts. The enacted budget includes a surplus carryforward of $2.08 billion and a transfer from the Taxpayer Relief Fund of $463.6 million, resulting in an ending balance/surplus of $1.61 billion. Additionally, the balance of the Cash Reserve Fund is estimated at $636.9 million at the end of fiscal 2026.³

Largest FY 2021 Per Capita Revenue Sources (after federal transfers):⁴

- - - Charges: $3,100 per capita
    - Property Taxes: $2,000 per capita

(Iowa uses all major state and local taxes. Charges are public payments connected with a specific government service, such as tuition paid to a state university, payments to a public hospital, or highway tolls.)

State Budget Rules:⁴

Iowa uses an annual budget. The legislature is not required to pass a balanced budget, but the governor is required to sign one. Deficits may be carried over into the following year. Iowa also has an appropriations formula that limits spending growth, but the limit may be overridden by a simple legislative majority. There are also limits on total authorized debt incurred by the state but not debt service.

Permanent State Funding Stream Dedicated to Early Childhood: No

There is no permanent state funding stream—such as lottery revenue, nicotine tax, or trust fund distributions—dedicated by statute to early childhood supports.9 (Examples of states with such funding in place can be found in the Alliance’s Revenue and Early Childhood Finance resource center.)

Political Alignment: Aligned Republican

During the 2025 session, the state’s Senate and House were both Republican controlled. The state’s governor was also a Republican.⁶

Types of Common Ballot Measures Available:⁷One

- Legislature-Initiated Constitutional Amendments – A constitutional amendment that appears on a state’s ballot as a ballot measure because the state legislature in that state voted to put it before the voters.

Early Childhood Policy Advocacy Organizations Include:

Early Childhood Policy Advocacy Multi-State Initiatives Include:⁸

2025 Policy Progress:

Highlights from the state’s early childhood policy advocacy community include:⁹

Iowa advocates defeated a governor-sponsored child care bill that would have taken money from other crucial early childhood programs to fund the high-profile initiative. Advocates worked with partners to keep it from passing the Senate. There were positive provisions within the bill, but advocates did not believe in ending successful programs to fund an unknown new program. The governor went on to implement all of the bill’s provisions administratively with new federal dollars.

Ongoing Grantee Areas of Advocacy

Our lead ally in Iowa, Common Good Iowa, is a research and advocacy organization that links research and policy on issues vital to children and families. The organization evaluates health and child and family systems, conducts research to advance programs and policies, and provides technical assistance in policy development, research, and analysis.

Common Good Iowa is working to advance early childhood policies in several areas that align with the Alliance’s birth-through-eight policy framework:

Early Care and Education

Preschool and Pre-K

Child Care

Child Care Workforce

Child and
Maternal Health

Infant & Child Health

Maternal Health

Family
Supports

Family Economic Security

Early Childhood Infrastructure

Financing

Click here for more information on advocates’ policy agenda.

NOTES:

¹Kids Count Data Center, Annie E. Casey Foundation, Children Ages 0 to 8 Below 200 Percent Poverty, January, 2024.

²National Center for Children in Poverty, Children Ages 0 through 8 Below 200 Percent Poverty, October 2024, NCCP analysis of ACS 5-Year Estimates – Public Use Microdata Sample 2018-2022.

³National Association of State Budget Officers, Proposed and Enacted Budgets, FY 2026.

⁴Urban Institute, State Fiscal Briefs, April 2025.

⁵Alliance for Early Success, State Examples of Dedicated Funding Streams, 2025

⁶National Conference of State Legislatures, 2025 State & Legislative Partisan Composition, January 31, 2025.

⁷Ballotpedia, Ballot Measures by State, Kids Count Data Center, 2025.

⁸Alliance for Early Success, Multi-State Initiatives for Early Childhood Policy Advocacy, July, 2024.

⁹Alliance for Early Success, State-Wide Advocacy Highlights Survey, April-October, 2025.