President Biden Seeks Important Funding Increases for Early Learning & Care Programs in FY2022

WASHINGTON – Today, the White House released President Joe Biden’s FY2022 budget request to Congress, which includes over $3 billion in funding increases for core federal early learning and care programs like Head Start and Early Head Start; the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) program; and the Preschool Development Grant Birth through Five (PDGB5) program.

“For years, early childhood education has been a rare unifying issue in Washington and among voters across the political spectrum alike. President Biden’s budget proposal builds upon the bipartisan support seen in recent years for increases in early education and care funding to further strengthen the programs that millions of low-income children and their families rely on,” said First Five Years Fund Executive Director Sarah Rittling. “FFYF is incredibly grateful for President Biden and the Administration’s strong support for young children and we look forward to working with Congress to ensure early childhood education programs receive the largest increases possible through the annual appropriations process.”

The President provides an annual budget request to Congress detailing the administration’s funding goals and priorities for the fiscal year, before lawmakers begin their own budgetary and appropriations process. The FY2022 request from the White House includes the following funding increases for early learning and care programs:

• Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG)
  • $7.4 billion — $1.5 billion over FY2021
• Head Start and Early Head Start
  • $11.9 billion — $1.2 billion over FY2021
  • Including $1.8 billion for the Early Head Start-Child Care Partnerships program — $905 million over FY2021
• Preschool Development Grant Birth through Five (PDG B-5)
  • $450 million — $175 million over FY2021
• IDEA Part C Grants for Infants and Families
  • $732 million — $250 million over FY2021

The request to increase funding for these early learning and care programs comes on the heels of President Biden proposing $25 billion to help upgrade child care facilities and expanded tax credit for businesses to build child care at places of work as part of his American Jobs Plan. Earlier this year, President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan into law, allocating $15 billion in emergency child care assistance for essential workers through  the CCDBG program and $24 billion in child care stabilization funding for child care providers struggling amid the devastating economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the child care industry.

Underscoring the Biden Administration’s commitment to the care and education of our youngest learners, Vice President Kamala Harris, First Lady Jill Biden, and Labor Secretary Marty Walsh each recently visited child care facilities to discuss the relief included in the American Rescue Plan and to underscore the need to build up a system of care that works for all families who need it.

Earlier this year, FFYF released its Blueprint for Progress, offering Congress and the Biden administration insight into opportunities, big and small, to support early learning and care programs for children from birth through age five. The sweeping resource provides a true blueprint for lawmakers with policy proposals to address access, affordability, and quality in child care and early learning, outlining wide-ranging solutions that fit squarely into the various legislative vehicles Congress might pursue, from infrastructure, to tax reform, to annual funding bills, to budget reconciliation, and more. The Blueprint is online at FFYF.org/Blueprint.

Last month, FFYF and other national early care and education advocacy organizations sent a letter calling on Congress to provide increased funding for federal early learning and care programs, including the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) program, Head Start and Early Head Start, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and the Preschool Development Grant Birth through Five (PDG B-5) program.