News & Resources
FEATURED PRIORITES
Appropriations FY2027
For FY2027, Congress should protect, prioritize, and expand these investments in programs including the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG), Early Head Start/Head Start, and the Preschool Development Grant Birth through Five (PDG B-5).
Child Care is an Affordability Issue
“Affordability anxiety” is particularly high for parents of young children, where child care consistently stands out as one of the most significant and unavoidable expenses.
Modernizing Child Care
Modernizing the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) is essential to ensuring more working families can access the quality, affordable child care care they need.
2026 Early Head Start and Head Start
Head Start has a long history of giving kids a strong start through comprehensive early learning, health, and nutrition services. We are focused on continuing to bolster overall support for this essential program at the federal level.
Posts
Subscribe to FFYF First Look
Every morning, FFYF reports on the latest child care & early learning news from across the country. Subscribe and take 5 minutes to know what's happening in early childhood education.
Research Shows Low Pay is Associated with High Early Educator Turnover and Poor Student Outcomes
A new report finds that early educator turnover disrupts child-teacher relationships, which are crucial to children’s developmental outcomes. Researchers further found that turnover is higher in child care centers where …
For Moms Everywhere: Congress Should Invest in Child Care Before the Next Mother’s Day
Over the past two years, the pandemic has altered the landscape of motherhood, piling on even more new pressures and demands. Chief among those is the nationwide child care crisis: …
ZERO TO THREE Releases State of Babies 2022 Yearbook
ZERO TO THREE released the State of Babies Yearbook: 2022, an in-depth report on how state and federal policies, along with the third year of the COVID-19 pandemic, have impacted …
Final Rule for State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds Includes Early Learning and Care Among Other Purposes
Last week, the Department of Treasury published a final rule for the use of Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) provided by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). …
National Report Examines State Preschool Policies in 2020-2021
The National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) released the 2021 State of Preschool report, an annual survey of state preschool policies. The 19th edition of the report focuses on …
Senate Banking Subcommittee Hearing Highlights the Connection Between Child Care Access and Growing the Economy
This week, the Senate Banking Subcommittee on Economic Policy held a hearing to discuss the importance of investing in child care to help grow the economy and slow the rate …
Advocates Call for Increased Funding for Early Learning and Care Programs in FY2023 Appropriations
The First Five Years Fund (FFYF) and a coalition of national early education advocacy organizations have written to Congressional appropriators with a request for increased funding for the existing federal …
Administration Expands Eligibility Criteria for Head Start Programs
Big news for young children and their families! On April 21st, the Office of Head Start (OHS) announced it would expand categorical eligibility to include children who qualify for the …
FFYF Co-Hosts Congressional Briefing Highlighting Importance of Federal ECE Funding
On Thursday, First Five Years Fund (FFYF), together with the National Head Start Association (NHSA), the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), and Child Care Aware of …
Health care workforce turnover rates 43% higher among women with children under five
A new study from the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) analyzed the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on turnover rates among health care workers. Turnover rates were 43% higher among women …
