Governors Child Care, Early Learning, and Early Childhood Mentions – 2026

ALABAMA — Gov. Kay Ivey

“My first Early Childhood Education Secretary, now Representative Jeana Ross, is putting forward a bill with Senator Donnie Chesteen to limit screen time for children five and younger in publicly funded early learning centers.”

ALASKA — Gov. Mike Dunleavy

“Additionally, I’ll be introducing several initiatives focused on child care, job training, and affordable housing…. Alaska is poised for a building boom over the next 10 to 15 years, and we’ve introduced legislation to provide both the job training, and the child care that’s required to go along with it.”

ARIZONA — Gov. Katie Hobbs

“In the last year, we … Lowered the cost of child care, prescription drugs, and housing to support working families and businesses …”

CONNECTICUT — Gov. Ned Lamont

“Getting our fiscal house in order has also allowed us to save young and growing families tens of thousands of dollars per year in childcare costs. Our budget is still in surplus, allowing us to make another sizeable deposit in our childcare endowment, well on our way to making universal early childhood education a reality. Making it a little easier for parents to get back to work, and giving your child the very best headstart in life.”

INDIANA — Gov. Mike Braun

“If we’re going to grow our economy and help Hoosiers get better jobs, we need to make child care more affordable and available. That’s why I look forward to digging in during the budget session on what we can do to invest in lowering child care costs. I would like to see a program where businesses have some skin in the game to make child care more affordable.”

KENTUCKY — Gov. Andy Beshear

“Most Kentucky parents can’t afford pre-K. So many of our neighbors want to work but simply can’t find or afford child care. At a time when things cost too much, pre-K saves parents thousands of dollars every year. And one study shows it boosts parents’ earnings by nearly $9,000 per year for at least six years.”

NEW HAMPSHIRE — Gov. Kelly Ayotte

“Economic development is more than marketing ourselves and attracting others here, it’s aligning the critical structures of workforce, housing, and childcare, to create the most advantageous environment for businesses to start, grow, and succeed.”

“A downward pressure on our families and our workforce is the exploding cost of childcare. I know this is a burden for so many, and that it leads to tough conversations around the dinner table about the value of a parent working versus the associated childcare cost. As a state we are looking at ways to ease this burden.

The budget we passed last year fully funded childcare scholarships and lessened the administrative burden of receiving that funding. We’re looking at ways to make the program run better and reduce barriers to new providers to increase supply. We’re also getting the private sector and nonprofits at the table to talk about what else can be done.

Just yesterday, I was at a ribbon cutting for a renovation and expansion of childcare and early learning at the Merrimack YMCA. The largest of its kind in the country. Similarly, Boys and Girls Clubs are expanding their childcare offerings, and we need to empower other nonprofits to do the same. I’d also like to see a tax credit for companies investing in childcare for their workforce to incentivize more businesses to consider helping meet this need for their employees.”

FLORIDA — Gov. Ron DeSantis

“We’ve eliminated taxes on baby items, disaster supplies, and completely eliminated the tax on business rent.”

NEW YORK — Gov. Kathy Hochul

“We expanded child care, capped the cost of insulin and launched the nation’s very first paid prenatal leave program.”

“A child tax credit up to $1,000 and the lowest middle class tax rates in 70 years. Let me repeat, the lowest in 70 years! Whether we’re talking about child care, groceries or utility bills, one thing is clear: Parents, veterans and seniors need relief. So this year, while Washington takes a machete to our safety net, I’m doubling down on the fight for a more affordable New York starting with child care.”

“When my husband Bill and I were starting out, child care was one of our greatest obstacles. I was fresh out of law school working my dream job on Capitol Hill with Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan. But when our babies arrived, I had to give that career up simply because we could not find affordable child care. Get this: In New York City, child care costs between $26,000 and $40,000 a year. For that price, your toddler should be fluent in three languages and doing your taxes.”

“One year ago, I stood on this very stage and placed our state on the path to Universal Child care. Today, I stand before you with a clear roadmap to show how we’ll get there. Building on over $8 billion in child care investments that my Administration has made since 2022, this plan will ultimately deliver Universal Child care for every single family in New York.”

“This year, we’ll also pilot community-wide child care to provide year-round, full-day, affordable care for newborns to 3 year olds. And we’ll build on the proven success of our State Child Care Assistance Program and our voucher system so tens of thousands more families can access high-quality care for no more than $15 per week. So we’ll work with employers and improve tax incentives for those who invest in child care benefits.”

KANSAS — Gov. Laura Kelly

“We cut taxes for parents to make child care more affordable.”

“Right here in Topeka, the State of Kansas and Blue Cross Blue Shield will soon cut the ribbon on a 160-slot child care facility just blocks away from the Capitol.”

“We have developed partnerships with the private sector to exponentially expand access to quality early childhood experiences all across Kansas.”

“Now we have the Office of Early Childhood, which will ensure our youngest children get the start in life they need to become resilient, productive adults.”

OKLAHOMA — Gov. Kevin Stitt

“Now, through the Trump Accounts, when a child turns 18, they have a launchpad to buy a home or start a business or to go to college.”

NEW JERSEY — Gov. Phil Murphy

“Today in New Jersey, our children in cities like Camden, Trenton, and Newark are finally receiving the resources and support they need to learn, so they no longer have to settle for under-funded classrooms, or inadequate child care.”

CALIFORNIA — Gov. Gavin Newsom

“I’m proposing that we unify the policy-making by the State Board of Education and the Department of Education, allowing the State Superintendent of Public Instruction to align our education policies from early childhood through college.”

“Together, we created the Young Child Tax Credit and the Foster Youth Tax Credit. We have increased Paid Sick Leave and Paid Family Leave, allowing eligible workers to receive up to 90% of their wages while raising and supporting their families.”

COLORADO — Gov. Jared Polis

Mean cuts target short-term support for the most basic and essential needs for Colorado families and threaten child care support that Colorado families and child care centers rely on.”

“Cutting income taxes three times and property taxes five times while supercharging the earned income and child tax credits. Establishing the Family Affordability Tax Credit, which helped cut child poverty rates by nearly 41%. Today, Colorado boasts the lowest childhood poverty rate in the nation.”

RHODE ISLAND — Gov. Dan McKee

“Childcare costs more. Groceries cost more. Even school supplies cost more, and families nationwide are feeling that pressure. When they couldn’t afford childcare for their youngest, she and her husband worked split shifts to try and take care of their child.”

“And we put $40 million directly back in families’ pockets with a child tax rebate. I’ll propose creating Rhode Island’s first permanent child tax credit, lowering the gas tax, reducing the charges on your electric bill, lowering health care costs, and eliminating the tax on social security.”

“We’ve provided tax relief to families before, and now, we’re expanding the dependent deduction to create Rhode Island’s first permanent Child Tax Credit. With $325 per child available, we’ll be giving more money to more families.”

MAINE — Gov. Janet Mills

“We’ve expanded early childhood education, with more children enrolled in pre-kindergarten than ever before.”

“In Maine, if you are working and raising a child, you may very well qualify for $650 through the state’s Earned Income Tax Credit. What’s more, you may also qualify for Maine’s $305 Dependent Exemption Tax Credit for your child – and, this year, if your child is under the age of six, that credit doubles to $610.”

NEW MEXICO — Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham

“I believed we could be the childcare state. The jobs state. The energy state. The innovation state….”

“When I took office, too many New Mexico families found childcare unaffordable, unavailable — or both. We’re ready to solve that problem once and for all with universal child care provided at no cost to all families across the state. That should come as little surprise because New Mexico is the first state in America to make child care a right. Not an aspiration. Not a goal. A right.

And we didn’t just talk the talk. We made that right a reality, with new and expanded childcare centers; training and support for educators and staff; and resources to meet families where they live. We’ve made New Mexico first in the nation for childcare access – the best place in America to start a family and build a career, and the first state in the country to offer truly universal free childcare.

That’s infant and toddler programs. It’s before-school drop-offs and after-school support. From the day your child is born until they are 12 years old, New Mexico has you covered.

On November 1, universal childcare changed everything for them. It meant Kenny and Crystal could do their essential work while both kids went to the same preschool.”

“Our investment in childcare means our kids will be better prepared when they start school.”

WASHINGTON — Gov. Bob Ferguson

“… here’s another historic milestone — thanks to the generosity of the Ballmer Group, the state will receive upwards of a billion dollars to invest in free early learning programs that help kids and hardworking families.”

VIRGINIA — Gov. Glenn Youngkin

“Building Blocks for Virginia Families delivered the best Public-Private-Parent Choice model for Early Education and Childcare in America… not only maintaining full access for 74,000 children after the Biden Administration cut funding, but also with my recent introduced Budget providing 6,000 more subsidy slots. Our quality model leads the nation.”

DELAWARE — Gov. Matt Meyer

“And partner with employers to expand access to childcare. We look forward to continued partnership with Speaker Minor-Brown, Senator Lockman, and Representatives Kam Smith and Romer, passionate advocates for early childcare providers and families.”

“And that work begins early – before a child ever walks into a classroom. Delaware families deserve the best early childhood education system in America. We will make a nearly $50 million investment in early childhood education in the next year and add to that success.”

“If a child cannot read, they cannot succeed.”

MISSOURI — Gov. Mike Kehoe

“Additionally, our recommendation works to bring ongoing spending back in line with ongoing revenues… All while meeting priority and mandatory spending requirements such as child care subsidies – without cutting core funding for higher education and without cutting the K-12 foundation formula.”

HAWAII — Gov. Josh Green

“I also want to thank the Lt. Governor for her important work on expanding pre-school access statewide, which will help bring down the cost of childcare for everyone in Hawai‘i.”

“This proposal will bring back $1.8 billion for critical services — $600 million of which I propose must be used for food security and child care needs. We will increase affordable child care support for working parents — so families can work and still be there for their kids.”

“In our first year, we doubled the earned income tax credit and the food tax credit, and increased the child and dependent care credit — saving Hawai‘i families about $88 million per year in taxes and making our state a little more affordable.”

PENNSYLVANIA — Gov. Josh Shapiro

“Last year, we all identified a problem — we don’t have enough child care workers, and that’s because we don’t pay them enough. So we came together to create the first state-funded Child Care Recruitment and Retention grant in Pennsylvania history. We gave $450 to 55,000 child care workers across our Commonwealth — and showed them the respect they deserve. More money in the pockets of our child care workers — and more available child care for Pennsylvania families.”

“We’ve put money back in the pockets of seniors, small businesses, families with child care costs, and working Pennsylvanians struggling to get by.”

“We also need more early childhood educators and pre-K teachers — kind, gentle souls who want to get our kids started on the right path but who have been paid too little for too long.”

SOUTH CAROLINA — Gov. Henry McMaster

“Since the statewide expansion of the full-day four-year-old kindergarten program – known as 4K – starting in 2021, enrollment in the program offered in public schools, private childcare centers, and private schools, has increased significantly. Statistics clearly show that a child from a low-income household enrolled in a state-funded, full-day 4K program, will be better prepared for kindergarten than their peers who do not participate.”

VERMONT — Gov. Phil Scott

“Here’s something to think about: I’m sure some of you would like to provide more support for child care.”