Recent State Policy Advances
Expanded investment. Restructured agencies. New caucuses, committees, and coalitions. Read about all the ways our allies on the front lines are making their state a better place for each and every child to reach their full potential.
State By State:
Oklahoma Advocates Celebrate a Hard-Won Benefit for Child Care Workers
When state funding passed for Oklahoma’s Teacher Recruitment & Retention Program (TRR) in 2025, the program became one of the first in the nation to appropriate a budget for free child care benefits to eligible employees working in licensed child care facilities. Advocates say it’s a big step in directly addressing the recruitment and retention crisis that has long destabilized Oklahoma’s child care workforce.
Now in its Third Year, Microgranting Program is Building Collective Power in Alaska
Alaska Children’s Trust is rethinking how advocacy happens. Since beginning in 2023, a microgranting strategy is redefining who gets to participate in advocacy and is helping to build the collective power necessary to elevate children and family issues across the state.
Colorado Becomes the First State in the Country to Expand Paid Family and Medical Leave Program to Include Parents with Children in the NICU
Colorado has become the first-in-the-nation to expanded its paid family and medical leave program to include paid NICU-specific leave. The benefit became available in January of 2026.
Rhode Island Advocates Leverage Alliance Responsive Support to Quickly Backfill SNAP Cuts With State TANF Funds
In fall 2025, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) was suddenly threatened during the federal government shutdown, when the federal administration halted payments. In response, Rhode Island advocates leveraged Alliance responsive support to help backfill SNAP cuts with state TANF funds.
Beyond Tri-Share: What Child Care Cost-Sharing Can Look Like When Communities Lead
FIELD NOTES | By Brian Schmidt | With debate swirling about “tri-share” and other child care cost-sharing models, Kids Win Missouri’s Executive Director makes the case that states should focus less on debating models and more on designing to the state’s unique needs and landscape.
Nebraska Advocates Turn Child Care Tax Credits into a High-Demand Tool for Families and Providers
Nebraska advocates demonstrated how the Alliance for Early Success’s flexible funding and expert support can help state advocates turn a promising idea into measurable progress for young children and the adults who care for them. Advocates recognized that tax credits could be a powerful tool for strengthening the state’s child care system—but only if families, providers, and employers actually used them. First Five Nebraska designed a package of credits paired with a communications and outreach strategy. Their approach also offers a simple playbook for other states.
Wisconsin and Louisiana Advocates Mobilize Dads at State Capitols to Support Child Care Funding and Family Policies
Geaux Far Louisiana and Kids Forward organized dads across Louisiana and Wisconsin to rally at their state capitols for kids and families. Father-led advocacy is laying the foundation for future change. Kids Forward is now working with members of the Wisconsin State Assembly to launch a bipartisan Wisconsin Dads Caucus. In Louisiana, a state senate resolution was introduced and passed to establish a state fatherhood task force.
In a Year of Economic Uncertainty, Differing State Approaches to Spending on Young Children
Several states including Maryland, Arkansas, and Indiana have opted to reduce funding for early learning programs, while others, such as New York, Texas, and Illinois, managed to strengthen their programs despite fiscal headwinds.
In Vermont, A Decade-Old Campaign Winds Down and Reflects on Progress
In 2015, Let’s Grow Kids, a statewide advocacy organization, was launched in Vermont with a clear goal: secure affordable access to high-quality child care for the state’s families by 2025. Let’s Grow Kids has now officially ended its operations, and that is by design. The organization was designed from the start to be a time-limited, ten-year endeavor to reach the unprecedented outcome it achieved in Act 76, which passed in 2023.
A Growing Number of States Are Turning to Dedicated Funding for Young Children
Alliance responsive support provider Children’s Funding Project is helping advocates across the country win dedicated streams of public financing to support young children. Establishing dedicated funding for ECE can be an effective way to ensure these programs don’t get left out during the budget process.
Arkansas Advocates Welcome New Medicaid Funding as a First Step On the Long Road to Ending Preventable Maternal Death in the State
The passage of the Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies Act enacts provisions that advocates have long fought for and confronts some of the barriers fueling poor maternal health outcomes, but they insist Arkansas has a long way to go to ensure a healthy birth for every mother and baby.
The Future of the CCDF Rule Is Not Clear, but Alaska, Maine, and Others Are Continuing Its Improvements
Though the Trump administration has recently been sending signals that they intend to do away with the rule entirely, state advocates report the CCDF Rule has sparked many of the recent positive changes in child care policy across the country.