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.
As 2023 legislative sessions are underway, advocates have been preparing to ensure that legislators understand the strong opportunity to equitably support young children, their families, and communities through policy and budgetary investments. Take a look at some of the leading 2023 state policy priorities in early childhood.
Alaska leaned in to state-funded preschool this year, with Governor Mike Dunleavy signing into law the Alaska Reads Act in June. The new law includes a small competitive grant program to develop pre-K programs in districts where none exist, or to expand and improve existing pre-K programs.
The Alliance for Early Success has released its 2022 50-State Progress and Landscape Report, an annual report on policy wins and trends in state early childhood policy across the country.
New Mexico’s Constitutional Amendment 1 passed with 70% of the vote. Advocates at OLÉ—part of the Alliance’s New Mexico Child Care NEXT coalition—worked with field partners at Vote Yes for Kids who had never worked on early childhood education issues before. But the staff and members understood what a victory would mean for the state’s communities and the country. The Constitutional Amendment authorizes a 1.25% increase in the annual appropriations of the fund, with 60% of the incremental revenue to support programs for children age 0-5.
After a three-year break, the Alliance for Early Success hosted CONNECT22—a three-day event that brings together state advocates, national early
Alliance allies gathered to learn from national and state partners about the impact of federal safety net policies and what levers states have to support families’ economic security.
From ballot measures to shifting power dynamics, election day results at the state level have big implications for children and their families. Take a look at some of the key developments.
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.
Allies at the Alabama School Readiness Alliance (ASRA), VOICES for Alabama’s Children, and Alabama Partnership for Children championed legislation that led to a historic state investment to child care and pre-k – a new and improved QRIS system that includes generous incentive payments to providers and provides coaches to help programs improve their quality and adding 125 classrooms to the First Class Pre-k program.
After two years of strong collective advocacy efforts, Alliance allies at the Michigan Council for Maternal and Child Health (MCMCH) championed the plan that purposefully worked to address disparities by extending Medicaid coverage from 60 days to 12 months postpartum.
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© 2022 Alliance for Early Success
