First Five Years Fund
Posts

Head Start and Early Head Start: The Program Overview
Head Start is a federally funded program that delivers comprehensive early learning, health, nutrition, and family support services to children ages 3 through 5 experiencing poverty and their families. More …

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 147 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. …

The First Five Things to Know About: Head Start In Every Congressional District
Head Start has been making a difference in the lives of children and families for more than 60 years. Since its beginning, the program has reached more than 40 million …

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 …

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 …

New Poll: Support for Head Start
Quality care is crucial for a child’s development. Early learning programs help build the skills kids need to succeed in school and in life. And when parents know their children …

Republican Quotes of Support for Head Start
Head Start provides high-quality learning and care, nutrition, and medical services for young children whose families have incomes below poverty. This helps their parents to go to work, especially in …

Democratic Quotes of Support for Head Start
Head Start provides high-quality learning and care, nutrition, and medical services for young children whose families have incomes below poverty. This helps their parents to go to work, especially in …

Polling Memo: Republican Support for Child Care Tax Policies
Polling conducted by Republican pollsters UpONE Insights on behalf of First Five Years Fund (FFYF) shows strong support for expanding child care-related tax credits. This is especially relevant as the …

118th and 119th Congress: Bipartisan Child Care Legislation in the House and Senate
Reliable, affordable child care is essential for hardworking families, especially as two-thirds of all children under the age of five need care because all available parents are working. Yet, high …

2025: ABCs of Federal Early Learning and Child Care Funding Streams
Every year, millions of children who range in age from birth through five benefit from an array of federal early learning and care programs. While there are different early learning …