2023-25 Legislative and Budget Priorities
In the 2023-25 biennium, the Department of Early Learning and Care will focus on three key strategies to support the early learning system and child care sector:
- Ensure families with young children have access to the services, supports and information they need to thrive
- Ensure the early childhood educator and child care workforce is supported to serve families and is recognized as a professional workforce
- Ensure the sustainable operations of the new Department of Early Learning and Care to provide necessary infrastructure for the early learning and child care system
Centering Families
Early childhood education and child care is a critical support for families and provides key resources to promote healthy early childhood development. Research has shown that the effects of high-quality early childhood education can carry through to high school graduation, degree attainment, and even have positive long-term health impacts. The Department of Early Learning and Care’s proposed ARB is focused on expanding families’ access to high-quality, affordable, developmentally appropriate, culturally responsive and inclusive child care and early learning settings. While many of these services are tied to income requirements, the Agency’s ARB also recognizes the need to provide wrap around supports to families, offering screening services, transportation, and settings that better serve children experiencing disabilities. The Agency has a strong commitment and serious responsibility for maintaining the health and safety of children in the child care settings it regulates and monitors.
Supporting the early learning workforce
A strong early learning system requires a strong early learning workforce – a workforce that is well-trained, fairly compensated, culturally responsive, and culturally, racially and linguistically diverse. Currently, the workforce faces low wages and high rates of turnover. The availability of professional training and support is often limited and difficult to access. The Agency’s ARB also focuses on ensuring the early learning workforce has the resources to be able to meet the needs of the children in their care. In addition to specific programs focused on training, coaching and continuous quality improvement, the budget also addresses workforce compensation through funding of DELC administered early learning and child care assistance programs.
Sustainable Operations
The Department of Early Learning and Care is the result of years of recognition of the importance of early childhood development and funding an historically under-resourced sector that provides critical supports for children and families. As the investments in early childhood have grown, the infrastructure has been the last to develop. The Agency’s operations budget represents 9.67% of the overall 2023-25 Current Service Level. While the Agency brings together core early learning and child care functions into one place, the Agency provides the framework and infrastructure to ensure that families continue to have increased access to the supports they need to be successful. The Agency’s ARB includes resources to expand critical components of work necessary to providing efficient, high-quality services. This includes investing in program quality assurance, program evaluation and research, data analytics, and procurement capacity. While the Agency’s ARB includes additional investments in infrastructure, these POPs are primarily focused on direct services resources, which would lower the Agency’s operations budget to 7.79%.