For Immediate Release
April 17, 2024
WASHINGTON – Today, the Raising Child Care Fund (RCCF) released a report on grassroots groups’ remarkable work to secure adequate funding for child care and early education. The country is in dire need of stable funding for early childhood education, and the report notes how the RCCF raised more than $17 million in five years to support grassroots groups in their advocacy for accessible, affordable child care and education. The report is available here.
“We know that educating young children is non-negotiable,” said Rachel Schumacher, director of the Raising Child Care Fund. But we can’t give our children the education and care they need without advocacy. The Raising Child Care Fund is proud to have invested in grassroots groups who wake up every day determined to build public will for adequate funding for early childhood educators, providers, parents and communities.”
RCCF grantees are having an impact, and their recent victories are noted in the aforementioned report. Grantees include Parent Voices in California, Louisiana Power Coalition for Equity and Justice, Kids Count on Us in Minnesota, OLÉ in New Mexico, The Ohio Organizing Collaborative/CEO Project in Ohio, and the Coalition for Social Justice in Massachusetts, and more.
“Through years of deep organizing of parents, educators and child care providers, we built strong relationships with elected officials, and held them accountable for how their policies impacted children and families,” said Karin Swenson, child care provider and organizer with Kids Count on Us.
“When parents, providers and grassroots groups fight for our children’s future, they win,” Schumacher said. “This is essential given cuts in pandemic-era funding for child care.”
During the pandemic, the federal government released over $50 billion in child care funding including $24 billion in the American Rescue Plan Act which states used to stabilize 200,000 child care providers. This benefitted as many as 9.6 million children. Advocates have been urging Congress to extend this support and create a stronger system for children, families and providers. In the meantime, a small number of states took action after hearing from RCCF grantees and other advocates:
- The California state budget included $2.9 billion for child care for the next two years. These funds include $100 million a year to eliminate family fees for most families receiving child care assistance.
- Minnesota’s state legislature allocated $366 million in 2023 and over $1 billion in continued funding to sustain programs like the Great Start Compensation payment program for early educators.
- A coalition for children, families and child care providers, advocated for and won $475 million in Massachusetts to continue initiatives to support providers and boost compensation.
- New Mexico used $100 million of the permanent fund to support early childhood programs for children aged zero to five. This win was the result of a ballot initiative in 2022.
- Louisiana’s budget included $52 million for child care. This was the largest investment in child care in the state in almost a decade.
While these efforts are noteworthy, more must be done to support children, families and providers. Child care workers are the workforce behind the workforce, and it is imperative they receive the support they need to remain on the job.
“We have come so far in five years and are committed to continuing to push for just and equitable outcomes for kids, families, and the workforce,” said Rebecca Gomez of the Heising-Simons Foundation.
###