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Recent Bills Offer Needed Updates to Child Care Food Assistance Program
Having access to nutritious food is essential to children’s healthy growth and development, and children in full-time care need multiple meals and snacks throughout the day. With the cost of …
Policy Statement on Inclusion of Children With Disabilities in Early Childhood Programs
The Departments of Education (ED) and Health and Human Services (HHS) recently released the strongest policy statement on the inclusion of children with disabilities in early childhood programs to date. …
How States Are Using PDG B-5 Grants to Support Financing
The BUILD Initiative, ZERO TO THREE, and Start Early, recently released a new brief highlighting the strategies states are using to improve financing in their Preschool Development Grant Birth through …
New Research: ARP Stabilization Dollars Were Critical For Our Nation’s Child Care
The Council of Economic Advisers recently released a working paper indicating that the $24 billion in American Rescue Plan (ARP) stabilization funds effectively increased access to affordable child care, stabilized …
Funding for Key Early Learning Programs, FY 2024
For FY2025 funding levels, please reference our newer “Funding for Key Early Learning Programs, FY2025” chart. Each year, Congress determines funding levels for all of the federal defense and non-defense …
The First Five Things to Know About: Representative Joaquin Castro
As part of an ongoing series on the Bipartisan Child Care and PreK Caucus, First Five Years Fund is chatting with each of the co-chairs about their role as a …
New Report shows Skyrocketing Cost of Child Care
A new report from Bank of America has found that parents’ average child care payments are up a whopping 32% from 2019 – higher than the rate of inflation. First …
Highlights from Senate Appropriations hearing on White House FY24 request
On Wednesday, November 8, the Senate Appropriations Committee held a hearing to discuss President Biden’s FY24 supplemental funding request. As part of the three-hour hearing, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas …
New Rural Child Care Policy Framework
The Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) recently released a Rural Child Care Policy Framework, which outlines core challenges families living in rural areas face when accessing child care, including a lack …
The Crucial Role of Early Educators and the Need for Increased Compensation
Early educators are underpaid and undervalued for the challenging and important work they do. When determining what factors make an early care and education (ECE) program high quality, it’s the …
New Resource Highlights Innovations to Strengthen ECE Facility Infrastructure
The Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) recently released a report, From the Ground Up: Improving Child Care and Early Learning Facilities, that demonstrates the ways states, localities, and tribes can invest …
STATEMENT: First Five Years Fund’s Sarah Rittling on White House Effort To Prioritize Child Care
The White House has called on Congress to prioritize funding for child care and early learning programs. The following is a statement from First Five Years Fund Executive Director Sarah Rittling …
