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:
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.
Alliance Network Advocates Are Collaborating and Sharing Strategies for Fostering Parent Leadership in Advocacy and Policy
Peer collaboration and idea exchange among advocates is a big part of the Alliance network’s success, and that powerful effect is especially clear when it comes to Allies’ work to collaborate on fostering parent leadership in early childhood policy advocacy.
A Series of Laws Strengthens New Jersey’s Early Education System
While the successful bills mark a push toward universal pre-k and full-day kindergarten, advocates insist more work lies ahead to ensure eligible pre-k students get the chance to participate in the state’s Abbott Preschool program.
South Dakota Advocates Spotlight Child Care Workforce Unsustainability and Introduce First Workforce Subsidy Bill
A task force, a Children’s Day at the Capitol, and a new workforce child care subsidy bill are a few of the pieces of South Dakota advocates’ push to better support the state’s child care providers and workers.
Oregon Child Care Advocacy Coalition Has a New Way to Set Its Policy Agenda, and It Begins with Parents and Providers
The Child Care for Oregon coalition has implemented a new process that sets its policy agenda by first asking parents and practitioners to name the barriers they face and describe the future they envision for child care in Oregon.
A New Endowment Aims to Transform Connecticut’s Early Education System
Connecticut’s Early Childhood Education Endowment, seeded with an initial $300 million investment, marks the culmination of years of work by early education advocates fighting for sustainable, long-term funding.
Colorado Coalition Wins a New Tax Credit—and a Big Impact on Child Poverty
Advocates in the state’s Growing Our Future coalition have won their fight for the Family Affordability Tax Credit, which will put more money into the hands of families and help cut the child poverty rate in Colorado in half.
Montana Advocates Win Historic, Bipartisan New Revenue Stream for Early Childhood
After years of advocacy, Zero to Five Montana—along with other advocates, parents, and providers—has succeeded in passing a new early childhood endowment: the new Early Childhood Special Revenue Account.
Arkansas Takes Steps to Help Early Educators Save for Retirement
A new law in Arkansas makes early educators eligible to participate in the Arkansas Teacher Retirement System, a defined benefit retirement plan established for public school and other public education employees in the state. The new law means that any early educator who is licensed by the state and receives state or federal child care funding is eligible to save for retirement through the system.
New Jersey Grantees Recreate Alliance’s “Alabama Experience” for State Lawmakers
Inspired by the Alliance’s “Alabama Experience” for grantees in 2024, New Jersey advocates brought members of the New Jersey Legislative Black Caucus on a similar pilgrimage to Alabama, in order to deepen relationships and advance equity-centered policy.
Missouri ECE Fellows Program Empowers Community Voices and Connects Legislators to Voices with Experience
Missouri advocates learned from Alliance network peers in Ohio as they created the grassroots network that advances an early childhood agenda by placing those most directly impacted by state policy to the forefront of advocacy.
How North Dakota Advocates Are Defeating Anti-Vaccination Bills
A health advocate and communications strategist explain how “deliberate listening” and unlikely alliances are mitigating some of the most harmful consequences of vaccine misinformation—and disinformation—in North Dakota. And they share five strategies other advocates can emulate.