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TOOLKIT: Head Start Awareness Month
October is Head Start Awareness Month! Join us as we celebrate this important program that provides education, nutrition, health, and other services to hundreds of thousands of young children every year. …

POLLING: Rural Voters on Child Care and Head Start
In a new poll from First Five Years Fund, Rural Americans say money is tight, and child care is a significant part of that burden. The survey shows that the …

New Interactive Resource Reveals Staggering Data on the Child Care Gaps Across the United States
The Buffett Early Childhood Institute at the University of Nebraska, in collaboration with Child Care Aware of America and the Bipartisan Policy Center, recently released an interactive map resource that …

Head Start Announcement: New Supplemental Funding Available to Boost Nutrition Services
UPDATE: On September 23, ACF announced more than $61 million in supplemental nutrition funds to over 290 Head Start grantees across the country. Find the complete list of grantees and …

Head Start Community and Champions Gather on Capitol Hill
On September 17, more than 200 members and staff from Head Start programs across the country gathered in the Rayburn House Office Building for a Stand for Head Start reception, …

Side-by-Side Analysis: Comparison of the 2025 Child Care Modernization Act to Current Law
The following is a summary of key revisions the Child Care Modernization Act of 2025 would introduce to the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 2014. Among other …

First Five Things To Know About: The Child Care Modernization Act
Parents want child care options that meet their family’s unique needs and support their child’s healthy development. Yet today, far too many working families struggle to find and afford the …

CAPSULE COLLECTION: Head Start
IN A NUTSHELL The Head Start program has served more than 40 million children in its 60-year history—giving kids a strong start through early learning, health, and nutrition services. Children …

Child Care Means Business: Leaders and Employers Highlight Urgent Need for Solutions
This week, the First Five Years Fund (FFYF) and the Women’s Congressional Policy Institute (WCPI) co-hosted a bipartisan briefing on Capitol Hill to spotlight that Child Care Means Business. The …

ANALYSIS: FFYF’s 2025 State Fact Sheets
FFYF’s 2025 State Fact Sheets show how federal investments in child care impact working parents, children, and the economy. These federal programs not only benefit families nationwide, they also serve …

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 …