Pennsylvania, 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 36 percent (433,000) of the state’s children 0-8 live in households below 200 percent of the Federal Poverty Level (2022). This number represents a decrease from 39 percent (490,000) 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 200percent of the Federal Poverty Level than are Asian and non-Hispanic White children.2
State General Fund Appropriations:3 Increasing
Pennsylvania’s governor signed the state’s budget for fiscal 2025/26 into law in November of 2025. The total state General Fund spend is $50.09 billion, which is a $2.27 billion or 4.7 percent increase over 2024/25 (revised). It contains no new revenue sources. The projected 2025/26 General Fund ending balance is $200 million. The budget does not dip into the Rainy Day Fund, which has a current balance of $7.5 billion.
Largest Per Capita Revenue Sources (after federal transfers):4
Pennsylvania 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. Indiana uses all major state and local taxes.
State Budget Rules:4
Pennsylvania uses an annual budget. The legislature must pass a balanced budget, but it can carry a deficit over into the following year. Pennsylvania does not have any other tax or expenditure limits. The state does limit total authorized debt and debt service incurred by the state.
There is no permanent state funding stream—such as lottery revenue, nicotine tax, or trust fund distributions—dedicated by statute to early childhood supports. (Examples of other states with such funding in place can be found in the Alliance’s Revenue and Early Childhood Finance resource center.)
Political Alignment:6 Divided
During the legislative session, the legislature had split control, with Republicans controlling the senate and Democrats controlling the house. The state’s governor is a Democrat.5
Types of Common Ballot Measures Available:7 One
Early Childhood Policy Advocacy Organizations Include:
Early Childhood Policy Advocacy Multi-State Initiatives Include:8
Highlights from the state’s early childhood policy advocacy community include:9
Pennsylvania’s enacted FY 2025-26 budget created a new Child Care Recruitment and Retention line item, which was funded at $25 million. Intended to be a recurring measure, this funding is a major win for the Start Strong PA campaign. Receiving strong support from the governors administration, funds will begin to address the child care workforce crisis by providing $450 payments to teachers working in programs that serve subsidy children.
The final state budget for FY 2025-26 in Pennsylvania also includes the enactment of a state Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), also referred to as the Working Pennsylvanians Tax Credit. Modeled after the federal EITC, the new state-level credit equals 10 percent of the federal credit. Anyone who qualifies for the federal EITC will now automatically qualify for the state credit, with eligibility based on income and number of dependents. The maximum state credit is $805 and it is estimated $193 million in tax relief will be provided to 940,000 working Pennsylvanians in the upcoming tax season. Advocates in a coalition led by the United Way of Pennsylvania were key in enacting the legislation.
Early Intervention Programs in Pennsylvania received a total increase of $41.7 million in this year’s state budget. Specifically, $13.2 million of the increase is allocated for the Part C (Infants and Toddlers) program in the Department of Human Services budget, with $10 million of these funds directed to increase provider rates to address key challenges in the sector, including workforce shortages. The remainder of the combined increase provides an additional $28.5 million for the Part B (age three to five) program in the Department of Education budget. Alliance grantee Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children co-chairs the first statewide advocacy coalition in Pennsylvania focused on Early Intervention, which launched in 2022. Since that time, in addition to budget advocacy, the coalition has focused on obtaining and analyzing state data, which was shared in its first data brief released this year. Appropriations levels for Early Intervention Part C now stand at $198.4 million, while Early Intervention Part B is funded at $453.3 million.
The Pre-K Counts line item received a $9.5 million increase in the final FY 2025-26 state budget to bring full-time student rates from $10,500 to $10,748, or a 2.7 percent increase. Advocates in the Pre-K for PA campaign were seeking a $17 million increase for rates proposed by the governor in February that would have increased full-time student rates to $11,000, but are appreciative of this incremental step. Given challenges since the pandemic and with workforce shortages in ensuring the state is filling funded slots to the greatest extent possible, the Pre-K for PA campaign has worked with policymakers so that recent increases in state funding have focused on increasing provider rates. Pennsylvania’s Pre-K Counts line item is now funded at $326.8 million.
Our lead ally in Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children, is the statewide nonpartisan broad-based child advocacy organization. Their core strategies include data analysis, policy research, and policymaker education at the state and federal levels. Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children focuses on 4 core areas: preventing child abuse and neglect, early care and education, perinatal and children’s health, and K-12 education.
Pennsylvania Partnership for Children 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
K-3 Education
Preschool and Pre-K
Maternal Health
Infant & Child Health
Early Intervention (Age 0-3)
Child Welfare
Family Economic Security
Home Visiting
Data Systems
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill re-released two studies on the Pennsylvania Pre-K Counts (PA PKC) program that showed a strong return on the state’s investment. Pennsylvania allies leveraged the new research during the most recent legislative session to garner more funding for PA PKC – $25 million more.
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 through 8 Below 200 Percent Poverty, October 2024, NCCP analysis of ACS 5-Year Estimates – Public Use Microdata Sample 2018-2022.
3 2025/26 Budget Summary–Act 1 A of 2025, House Appropriations Committee, Pennsylvania House of Representatives, November 2025.
4 Urban Institute, State Fiscal Briefs, April 2025.
5 Alliance for Early Success, State Examples of Dedicated Funding Streams, 2025
6 National Conference of State Legislatures, 2025 State & Legislative Partisan Composition, January 31, 2025.
7 Ballotpedia, Ballot Measures by State, Kids Count Data Center, 2025.
8 Alliance for Early Success, Multi-State Initiatives for Early Childhood Policy Advocacy, July, 2024.
9 Alliance for Early Success, State-Wide Advocacy Highlights Survey, April-October, 2025.
