Webinar: How we can help protect and prioritize funding for child care

This week, FFYF, Child Care Aware of America, NAEYC, and the National Head Start Association hosted an inside look at the Congressional Appropriations process, which funds our nation’s main child care and early learning programs. Speakers discussed bipartisan support for the programs; previewed what comes next; and shared how we can all work together to ensure Congress protects and prioritizes funding for our child care programs.

Speakers included:

• Sarah Rubinfield, FFYF, Managing Director, Government Affairs
• Anne Hedgepeth, Child Care Aware of America, Senior Vice President of Policy and Research
• Daniel Hains, NAEYC, Managing Director of Policy and Professional Advancement
• Bob Bissen, National Head Start Association, Senior Director of Government Affairs

This group of experts each highlighted three of our main child care programs: Child Care Development Block Grants (CCDBG), Head Start, and and Preschool Development Block Grants Birth through Five (PDG B-5). They also discussed next steps following the release of President Trump’s “skinny budget”, which did not eliminate funding for Head Start as previously reported, but did eliminate funding for PDG B-5 and CCAMPIS. An overview of the programs can be found here.

What’s Next

Once Congress receives the President’s budget, they get to work on starting the Appropriations process for the year. Right now, Members of Congress are highlighting their priorities for the year’s funding bills by signing onto what are known as “Dear Colleague” letters. These letters are incredibly important because Appropriators (the Members of Congress writing the funding bills) take into account how many Members sign these letters as a way to measure support for these programs. View the letters here.

Advocates were encouraged to ask their Member of Congress to sign these letters. There are letters led and signed by Republicans, letters led and signed by Democrats, and bipartisan letters of support. Use the links below to take action today:

View the slides used in the presentation and the Appropriations toolkit here. Watch the video below to hear the full conversation: