Rhode Island, 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 29 percent (28,000) 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 32 percent (33,000) 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 percenet of the Federal Poverty Level than are Asian and non-Hispanic White children.2
State General Fund Appropriations: Growing
In 2025, Rhode Island’s governor allowed the state’s fiscal 2026 budget to become law without his signature. The budget provides for total spending from all funds of $14.34 billion, a 2.9 percent decrease compared to fiscal 2025 final expenditures. The budget includes general fund spending of $5.81 billion, a 3.8 percent annual increase, and federal aid spending of $5.1 billion, a 9.0 percent decrease compared to fiscal 2025 final levels. The budget is based on general fund revenue of $5.77 billion, reflecting a 2.5 percent increase over fiscal 2025, and a beginning balance (or free surplus) of $230 million. The fiscal 2026 budget projects an ending balance or free surplus of $1 million. The balance in the state’s rainy day fund (Budget Stabilization and Cash Reserve Account) is projected to increase, ending fiscal 2026 at $300 million.3
Key Revenue Sources (after federal transfers):4
State Budget Rules:4
Rhode Island uses an annual budget. The legislature must pass a balanced budget, but it can carry a deficit over into the following year. Rhode Island further limits spending with a budget rule that diverts a percentage of revenue to the state’s rainy day fund, but the limit may be overridden by a simple legislative majority. Rhode Island also limits total authorized debt and debt service incurred by the state.
Rhode Island has a payroll tax that funds a temporary caregivers insurance (TCI) program as part of a broader disability program. TCI covers paid family leave currently for seven weeks for birth, adoptive, and foster parents and for workers to take care of seriously ill loved ones, and will cover eight weeks starting in 2026..
Political Alignment:6 Aligned Democrat
During the legislative session, the state’s Senate and House were both Democrat controlled. The state’s Governor was also a Democrat.
Types of Common Ballot Measures Available:7 Two
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
S 974 will improve the state’s paid family and medical leave programs (known as Temporary Disability Insurance and Temporary Caregivers Insurance) by increasing wage replacement from 60 percent to 70 percent starting in 2027 and then to 75 percent in 2028. Rhode Island has had the lowest wage replacement rates among the 14 states with paid family and medical leave programs. The wage contribution base was increased from $89,000 to $100,000 to pay for this improvement.
The FY26 budget creates a new category of rates for infants under 18 months in the Child Care Assistance Program with a 20-percent increase above the toddler rates, funded by $3 million in newly allocated federal funding (CCDBG and TANF).
The FY26 enacted budget extends the Child Care For Child Care Educators Program through July 2028. It was launched in August 2023 as a one year pilot and extended in 2024 for another year. It would have ended in July 2025 if advocates had not won this extension.
A new permanent $30-million state general revenue funding stream was created to support access to primary health care and other critical health care initiatives through an assessment on commercial health insurance coverage. Advocates had been supporting this funding strategy to keep the MomsPRN (Psychiatry Resource Network) and PediPRN programs operating, in order to improve access to mental health care for mothers and children by enabling primary health care providers to access consultation.
Responding to the growing shortage of pediatric health care providers (and adult primary health care providers), the state budget funds and requires a comprehensive rate review of primary health care to include pediatric health care be completed by September 2026. (Adult primary health care providers got a Medicaid rate increase to equal 100 percent of Medicare benchmark rate, which is something pediatric primary health care providers had already won.) It also restricts the need for time-consuming prior authorizations from primary health care providers.
Our lead ally in Rhode Island is Rhode Island KIDS COUNT, a statewide children’s policy organization that provides information on child well-being, stimulates dialogue on children’s issues, and promotes accountability and action with a core focus on equity. Rhode Island KIDS COUNT works together with a steering committee of seven other organizations and coordinates the RIght from the Start campaign to advance state policies and raise budgets to help young children.
Rhode Island Kids Count 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
Early Intervention (0-3)
Home Visiting
Infant and Child Health
Maternal Health
Family Economic Security
Paid Family and Medical Leave
Early Childhood Governance
Click here for more information on advocates’ policy agenda.
Federal and state child tax credits have historically received bipartisan support. These tax credits for families with children under age 17 provide financial relief for low-income families and their children and support economic mobility. New Jersey, Vermont, and RI have recently chosen to use American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to enact state-level child tax credits.
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 National Association of State Budget Officers, Proposed and Enacted Budgets, FY 2026.
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.
