FINALLY! State Budget Increases Funds for Early Childcare and Education

For the first time in nearly a decade, more Louisiana working families will have crucial support in sending their children to a quality Early Care and Education Center thanks to a Governor and Legislative-supported budget which includes an $18.8 million increase for ECCE programing and seats, announced Executive Director Melanie Bronfin, Louisiana Policy Institute for Children.

“This is a huge win for families in our state and the reward for a unified voice from business, education, community, non-profit and citizen advocates who spoke up loudly and forcibly,” said Ms. Bronfin. “It’s a very important first step in securing the level of support Louisiana families truly need to be able to afford access to high quality early care and education for our youngest citizens.”
The breakdown of the $18.8 million in new funding for Early Child Care and Education (ECCE) is as follows:

NEW STATE Funding for the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) for children birth through age 3;
o  $2.3 million to raise the state investment rates for the current 15,000 seats (as Louisiana is under corrective action by the federal government to do so).
o  $8.9 million for CCAP slots at the new funding rate, to serve an additional 1450 children on the CCAP waitlist. 
NEW STATE Funding to sustain the current level of the Pre-K Program for 4-year-olds:  
o  $4 million for 800 Pre-K seats for 4-year-olds to replace federal grant funding ending this school year. 
POTENTIAL NEW FUNDING of $3.6 million to the Louisiana Early Childhood Education Trust Fund if Harrah’s casino revenues in New Orleans are greater than $60 million.
 
Additionally, legislation by Representative Neil Abramson (HB 560) was passed that could potentially create a dedicated, if unpredictable, funding stream for ECCE by dedicating three percent of an excise tax on each retail sale of industrial hemp-derived CBD products within the state of Louisiana to the Early Childhood Education Trust Fund. 
But while new dollars are finally starting to flow to support children birth to 4 in Louisiana, a sizable gap in need yet remains, Ms. Bronfin warned. Even with the 1450 children off the CCAP waitlist and into ECCE centers, there remains 4050 children on the waitlist who meet the criteria for support, but are unfunded, and the $15 million in new money falls far short of the $86 million needed annually as projected by the state ECE Commission report for birth to 3-year-old’s alone.

“I’m really proud of Governor John Bel Edwards and the bi-partisan support from Legislators in both houses for finding new dollars to start closing the CCAP gap,” said Ms. Bronfin. “We know what the level of need is, we know the cost, and we know the societal and economic benefit gained from establishing access to high quality public ECCE seats.

“But it was the relentless fact-finding done by our statewide Ready Louisiana Coalition for early education funding, the leadership of individual legislators who worked with the Department of Education, the Commission studies and our educators and parents who stood with the Louisiana Policy Institute and parents for years to show that this decrease in attention to our youngest minds was linked to our youngest students’ ability to learn and succeed. We are grateful and remain determined to correct this funding and quality service deficit for our families.”