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Funding for Key Early Learning Programs, FY2026
Each year, Congress determines funding levels for all of the federal defense and non-defense discretionary programs, including those that support the care and education of children from birth through age …
FFYF Capsule Collection: Appropriations and Child Care
What Are Appropriations? In A Nutshell Even with growing support from states, businesses and philanthropy, federal funding makes up the majority of investment in child care and early learning in …
2025 FFYF Federal Guide to Early Learning and Care Programs
The 119th Congress has the opportunity to invest in America’s children, working families, and the economy through high-quality child care and early childhood education. This resource book is an introduction …
Child Care Funding Letters Draw Record Number of Inaugural Signers
Each year, Members of Congress submit letters requesting robust funding for child care and early learning programs. Historically, letters requesting funding for child care have been bipartisan and incredibly popular. …
Reforming Regulations and Decentering Deregulation
Child care costs are high, child care workforce compensation is low, and regulations are burdensome. In an effort to find a solution there have been growing conversations around deregulation without …
FY2026: Community Letter to Appropriators Calls For Robust Funding for Child Care and Early Learning
WASHINGTON – The First Five Years Fund (FFYF) and a coalition of 146 major early education advocacy organizations from 36 states have a new letter to Congressional appropriators calling for …
STATEMENT: FFYF’s Sarah Rittling on the House Ways and Means Budget Reconciliation Plans
On Monday afternoon, the House Ways and Means Committee released the full text of their bill to reauthorize the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 ahead of Tuesday’s markup. …
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 …
FFYF Hosts Child Care and Early Learning Briefing on Capitol Hill
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The First Five Years Fund (FFYF) hosted Congressional staff for its annual bipartisan “ABCs of Federal Child Care and Early Learning” briefing. The session focused on the …
ACF: How Early Learning Programs Align With Executive Order on School Choice
Last week, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued two Information Memorandums (IM) and one Dear Colleague Letter addressing …
NIEER Releases Their Annual Report on the State of Preschool
This week, the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) released their 2024 State of Preschool Yearbook, offering a comprehensive analysis of state-funded preschool programs during the 2023-2024 school year. …
Statement: FFYF’s Sarah Rittling on Initial White House Budget Request for FY26
This morning, the White House released a letter providing President Trump’s recommendations on discretionary funding levels for fiscal year (FY) 2026. Also known as the “skinny budget,” the letter contains …
