Early childhood in the Federal Stimulus package

Now signed into law, the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has a lot of expectations riding on it. The good news is that early childhood programs are recognized as part of the package. A quick summary from the National Women's Law Center gives the basics (link to summary):

The Act will help low-income parents obtain the child care they need to get and keep jobs and help children get the early learning they need to succeed by providing:

• $2 billion for the Child Care and Development Block Grant, with the entire amount available upon enactment. Of this total, $255.2 million is reserved for quality improvement activities, of which $93.587 million is targeted to improve infant and toddler care.
• $1 billion for Head Start, allocated according to the current statutory formula, and $1.1 billion for Early Head Start, to be awarded on a competitive basis.
• $2.33 billion for Department of Defense facilities, including quality of life and family-friendly military improvement projects such as family housing, hospitals, and child care centers.
• $13 billion for Title I grants for education programs for disadvantaged children, including early childhood programs and activities.
• $11.7 billion to local education agencies for Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) programs for children ages 3 to 21, including $400 million for preschool grants (section 619) programs.
• $500 million for formula grants under IDEA Part C to help states serve children with disabilities and special needs age 2 and younger.

Advocates at Early Ed Watch have put together a more comprehensive summary here.

While we are still waiting to learn how exactly the dollars will flow to Minnesota, it is good news for our elected officials to recognize early care and education as part of keeping America on track and building for a sustainable future. Children don't stop learning just because the economy is bad and many more families will face challenges that can hinder a child's ability to be ready to learn at the start of school.

Stay tuned as we learn more about the stimulus plan and how it will impact Minnesota's state budget.

photo by Tracy O