Child Care and Early Education at CLASP

Children matter in Kansas budget

The 2008 legislative session in Kansas closed this month with good news for children and families. The state budget included $11.1 million in new funding for an Early Childhood Block Grant, which will fund a range of early education programs including pre-kindergarten, Head Start, Early Head Start, and Parents as Teachers, as well as additional child care quality initiatives. The Early Childhood Block Grant has a 30 percent set-aside to fund infant and toddler programs and will be administered by the Kansas Children's Cabinet. In addition to funding for the block grant, the Legislature approved a $2.5 million increase in funding for child care assistance. The increase is estimated to provide care for an additional 800 children of low-income, working families.

Starting Early, Starting Right Act Introduced

On May 5, Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) took an important step forward for low-income families by introducing the Starting Early, Starting Right Act. With the addition of $10 billion in new funds each year, the legislation will make a significant investment in the child care subsidy program in order to increase access for low-income families, raise reimbursement rates for providers, and improve the quality of care through training, monitoring, and new initiatives.

While the Child Care and Development Block Grant was scheduled to be reauthorized in 2000, it has remained low on the priority list for Congress and the President.  Funding for child care assistance has been near frozen for six years, yet as the economy worsens, more families need help paying for the child care they need to go to work.  Across the country, more than 360,000 children are on waiting lists for help.  Many more thousands of children and families need help but do not even bother applying for assistance.

As child care resources have grown scarcer, many families struggle to find providers who will care for their children.  Most states pay low rates to providers, forcing them to put off needed improvements, preventing salary increases, and making it difficult for low-income families to find high-quality caregivers in their communities.

Congress has been silent for too long regarding child care; Senator Casey’s proposal should get his colleagues talking.  The low-income working families of America are waiting.