Understanding the Importance and Connection Between Early Learning & Care Appropriations Funding and Emergency Stabilization Funding

Child care is not a luxury for America’s working families — it’s a necessity. Yet too many families struggle to find and afford quality early learning and care opportunities for their children, with the divide between demand and supply growing more with each year that passes. The situation has become exponentially more dire as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, as hardworking child care providers are forced to decrease enrollment or close their doors entirely amid the ongoing health and economic crisis.

Congress has taken important steps to provide relief for child care providers through the pandemic on top of ongoing funding for federal early learning and care programs through annual appropriations. Still, as the country moves toward economic recovery, both targeted stabilization dollars and increased annual appropriations funding will be vital to the sustainability of our nation’s child care system and ensuring families have the care they need to go to work.

Each year, millions of low-income children from birth through age five benefit from the array of federal early learning and care programs. These programs target different age groups and serve families in a variety of settings, supporting the care, education, and healthy development of children living in poverty, while also prioritizing parental choice. Although authorizing legislation establishes federal programs and their requirements in statute, actual funding levels depend on the annual budget and appropriations process. Unfortunately, even after historical bipartisan investments in federal early learning programs, they currently serve only a fraction of eligible children and families — we know access to these opportunities can dramatically improve a child’s chances for a better future, particularly children from low-income families.

The coronavirus has pushed an already-struggling child care industry to the brink of collapse. In a recent survey, 44% of parents said they are unable to work in some fashion without child care. Of those who have sought child care during COVID-19, more than half (54%) said it was difficult to find quality child care within their budget, and we know a lack of child care could force some parents to leave the workforce. Likewise, providers, who under normal circumstances operated on razor-thin margins, have now been through months of tremendous strain, balancing the health risks associated with remaining open and the financial risks of reducing enrollment or closing entirely. Nationally, a July poll found 18% of child care centers and 9% of family child care homes remain closed. Those who are open face significant increases in overhead expenses paired with ongoing declines in revenue.

To address these needs, advocates have called for a dedicated child care stabilization fund to support providers regardless of setting, and since March, federal, state, and local leaders have acted in unprecedented ways to mitigate the effects of COVID-19. This work is not done, however, and Congress is faced with negotiating a recovery package while staring down a December 11 appropriations deadline. As summarized in the following table, child care must remain a priority in any future COVID response package, as well as in the appropriations process, to ensure the long-term recovery of the child care industry. One or the other is simply not enough.

Annual Appropriations Funding Compared to Emergency Stabilization Funding

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