Gov Brown Proposed Budget Leaves Most Young Children Behind.

From California Budget Project:


Child Care and Preschool in the Governor's Proposed
2014-15 Budget: Deep Cuts from Prior Years Remain in Place

Access to high-quality, affordable child care and preschool is extremely important for families across California. Child care and preschool help children learn and explore, while allowing parents to find and keep jobs knowing their children are in good hands.  

A new CBP analysis -- the first in a series of briefs on Governor Brown's 2014-15 proposed budget -- takes a look at child care and preschool funding, and shows that the Governor's proposal would leave in place current, diminished levels of support. Despite increased state revenues, the Governor's budget proposal includes no major reinvestment in child care and preschool funding, which state policymakers have cut by nearly 40 percent in recent years. This CBP brief looks at several key benefits of subsidized child care and preschool and identifies policy options for boosting support for these programs.

Policy Options That Invest in the Future

State policymakers can take steps to strengthen California’s

subsidized child care and preschool system. Specifi cally, they can:

Increase funding and boost the number of slots to ensure

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that a greater number of eligible families have access to

child care and preschool;

Raise the income eligibility limit for child care and state

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preschool programs, which was lowered in 2011-12, causing

thousands of children to lose care; and

Increase payment rates for both licensed and license-exempt

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providers, which either have not been updated or have been

cut in recent years.

Child care and preschool programs provide substantial benefi ts

for the state’s children and working families, as well as offering

economic benefi ts to the state. Investment in child care and

preschool is fi scally sound policy that helps lay the foundation for

broadly shared prosperity.