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Child Care

The Alliance for Early Success is a 50-state resource for early-childhood advocates as they pursue the big, sustained impact that will ensure every child in every state, birth through age eight, has an equal chance to grow, learn, and succeed.

Delaware Early Childhood Policy

The Alliance Network Helps Delaware Advocates Tailor Their Messaging—and Win New Child Care Funding

When advocates at Rodel in Delaware began planning a targeted messaging strategy for increasing child care subsidies, the Alliance connected them with Child Care Aware of America, who helped them build a dashboard that quantifies the gap in child care supply and demand at the local level. This allowed advocates to create fact sheets about the shortage of child care in each state legislative district and, ultimately, win more than $10 million in additional subsidy and reimbursement funding.

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Massachusetts Advocates Turn a Crisis into a Community

In the early, crushing days of Covid, early childhood advocates in Massachusetts began to talk to each other daily on Zoom about making a way through the pandemic. These meetings were small at first, but grew over time. Four years later, “The 9:30 Call” is still happening and has an invite list of more than 2,000. More important, it is now a powerful, statewide conversation and a tool for ongoing and unprecedented advocacy.

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In DC and Louisiana, Advocates Unite to Avoid Damaging Funding Cuts

In lean budget times, successful advocacy can often take the shape of avoiding deep cuts or even planned eliminations to vital programs. This year, early childhood advocates in the District of Columbia and Louisiana leveraged grassroots voices and strategic messaging to defend investments in child care programs.

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Alabama Advocates Tap Alliance Network for Big Child Care Tax Credit Win 

Early Childhood advocates in Alabama are celebrating the creation of a new child care tax credit. As part of a “Working for Alabama” bill package, House Bill 358 provides opportunities for employers, for-profit child care providers, and nonprofit child care providers to apply for funds. The Alabama legislature unanimously passed the bill and the governor signed it into law in May, 2024.

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Kentucky Early Childhood Policy

In Effort to Entice Child Care Staff, More States Follow Kentucky’s Lead

While Kentucky was the first state to make child care staff automatically eligible for subsidies, about a dozen states have followed the lead of the Bluegrass State and either implemented a similar policy or are actively considering it. It is estimated that about 234,300 child care workers with children under the age of six and 294,000 children would benefit from the Kentucky model if all 50 states plus D.C. implemented a similar policy.

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Idaho early childhood policy

Idaho Advocates Use Innovative Early Learning Collaboratives to Move the Needle on Early Care and Education

In Idaho, where there is no state funding for pre-k, advocates are working at the community level to demonstrate families’ interest in — and the impact of — early care and education. Community-led collaboratives are uniting various stakeholders, including educators, parents, community leaders, and business owners, to create a holistic approach to early learning, tailored to local needs.

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Alliance for Early Success Early Childhood State Policy Advocacy

Serv and Return: Tools for Communicating the Broken Economics of Child Care

In January, an advocate from Texas put out a request for good resources for educating lawmakers about the child care system. Both state and national allies were quick to respond with a variety of tools that help explain the costs of child care businesses, the impact the system has on the economy, and strategies advocates can use to push for a substantial public investment in the system.

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