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% (433,000) of the state’s children 0-8 live in households below 200% of the Federal Poverty Level (2022). This number represents a decrease from 39% (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 200% of the Federal Poverty Level than are Asian and non-Hispanic White children.2
State General Fund Appropriations: Increasing
Pennsylvania’s governor signed the state’s budget for fiscal 2025 into law in July of 2024. The enacted budget provides for $47.6 billion in general fund appropriations for fiscal 2025, representing a 6 percent increase over fiscal 2024 spending. The enacted budget leaves a projected total balance (surplus) of $10.6 billion at the end of fiscal 2025.3
Largest Per Capita Revenue Sources (after federal transfers):4
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.
Political Alignment: Divided
During the 2024, 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:6 One
Early Childhood Policy Advocacy Organizations Include:
Early Childhood Policy Advocacy Multi-State Initiatives Include:7
Highlights from the state’s early childhood policy advocacy community include:8
In November 2024, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that it approved the Department of Human Service’s waiver to provide continuous eligibility for children in Medicaid up to age 6. CMS, however, also moved the 0-6 continuous eligibility from the state’s proposed Keystones of Health section 1115 demonstration waiver to a section 1115 waiver covering former foster youth to ensure passage while other aspects of Keystones of Health (such as housing, re-entry, and nutrition) are still in discussion. While advocates are celebrating the win for 0-6 continuous eligibility, the former foster youth waiver expires in September 2027. Advocates continue to work for full implementation implemented that is sustained beyond 2027.
The final budget contained an increase of $26 million in the Child Care Services line. Most of the increase in this year’s budget will maintain the child care subsidy exit income increase to 300 percent of the Federal Poverty Income Guidelines or 85 percent of the State Median Income. The remaining funds will be used by the Office of Child Development and Early Learning to increase the child care subsidy reimbursement rate to the federally recommended 75th percentile of the cost of child care services. While this increase will help buffer inflationary pressures on child care providers, it will not address the workforce crisis in the sector. The Start Strong PA child care campaign worked hard advocating for a dedicated recruitment and retention program supported by recurring funds and is disappointed in the lack of investment in the workforce behind the workforce.
Pennsylvania’s statewide advocacy effort dedicated to Early Intervention Part C is pleased with progress made during the 2024 session, including the Office of Child Development and Early Learning’s undertaking of a rate study. Advocates also, for the first time, successfully obtained comprehensive disaggregated data at statewide and county levels, which will significantly assist advocacy efforts moving forward. In addition, an increase of $9.1 million was included in the FY 2024-25 budget for the Early Intervention Part C (infants and toddlers) program in the DHS budget. The Pennsylvania Department of Education budget’s Early Intervention Part B (age three to five) program includes an increase of $32.9 million to improve well-being, health, and educational outcomes. Finally, a bill to add a positive screen for maternal depression and anxiety to the list of eligible conditions for early intervention tracking nearly made it to the governor’s desk, with it passing the House but stalling in the Senate. Advocates are working to ensure the bill is enacted in the 2025-26 legislative session.
In 2024, through a public/private funding, Pennsylvania established its own perinatal TiPS program, which will offer remote behavioral and psychiatric guidance for providers who interface with the perinatal population. The program is in the implementation phase and will officially launch in Spring 2025. Three grantees have been selected statewide with a planned go-live date of the Perinatal TiPS line being March 1, 2025.
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.
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.
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.
