Thanks to supporters like you, Congress voted to increase CCDBG funding – AGAIN! Let our delegation know we appreciate the continued investments in early care and education! What happened? The U.S Senate and House of Representatives voted in favor of a Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Defense 2019 spending bill that not only maintained the historic increase in funding for the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) in 2018 but also included a $50 million increase! The legislation also included support for other critical early care and education programs. The president signed the bill into law on September 28. Why does it matter? Funding provided for the 2018 federal fiscal year enabled the Office of Child Development and Early Learning to lift the rate freeze for STAR 1 and 2 providers and increase base rates for all providers by 2 percent. In addition, the funding will support a pilot to contract for quality slots for infants and toddlers participating in the subsidy program and will further support professional development for child care teachers. The continued support and increase of this line item is critical for Pennsylvania to improve access to high-quality care for children. TweetSharePinShare
