The Montana early childhood landscape in 2020 started off strong. Advocates came out of a tough legislative session in 2019. With a new strategy, they began working closely with the Montana Education Interim Committee to outline a bill draft through the committee. The budget outlook initially looked promising, but due to COVID-19, the outlook has shifted for the 2021 Legislative Session.
Montana did not have a legislative session in 2020. Zero to Five delivered on its priorities for 2020. Zero to Five engaged in statewide grassroots advocacy, collected and promoted parents’ experiences related to child care, and partnered with state agency programs and the Office of the Governor to allocate $50 million of CARES Act funding to child care providers and families. This amount was in addition to the $10.1 million in CARES Act Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) funding for Montana. In addition, Zero to Five conducted Montana’s first ever public opinion polling on voter attitudes about child care and pre-kindergarten.