Pennsylvania lawmakers passed a $50.8 billion budget on Sunday, July 12 that includes modest investments that build on last year’s historic funding for child care and a small increase for Pre-K Counts and Head Start.
State Budget Delivers Modest Gains for the Early Learning Workforce but Leaves Out Critical Supports for Pennsylvania’s Youngest Children
Early Learning PA (ELPA), of which Trying Together is a principal partner, released a statement following the budget’s passage that expressed appreciation for some small steps forward in addressing early education workforce shortages in the 2026–27 state budget. It also emphasized that the state must do far more to support programs such as infant and toddler Early Intervention to ensure that every Pennsylvania child from birth to age 5 has access to affordable, high-quality early care and education by 2030. Read the full statement from Early Learning PA.
Cara Ciminillo, executive director for Trying Together, shared her perspective: “Pennsylvania’s youngest children need a comprehensive system of care, which includes various options to meet families needs. Lasting progress requires investing in and strengthening every part of the system from home visiting and Early Intervention to child care and pre-k. We can not expect one program to absorb cuts while another receives modest gains. Families do not experience these programs in silos and a comprehensive approach is necessary to realize the full potential of early learning experiences.”
Recruitment and Retention
In the joint statement, Start Strong PA noted the incremental progress this budget makes to support the child care workforce by building on the $25 million recurring Child Care Recruitment and Retention Program funding with an additional $5 million investment. These funds will support programs in recruiting high-quality applicants and retaining experienced educators.
“Child care is an economic development strategy, workforce participation strategy, and education success strategy,” the statement read. “These investments will encourage teachers to remain in the field, allowing more parents to work, prepare more Pennsylvania children for school and build a stronger and more prosperous commonwealth.”
Start Strong PA also noted that while this increase is a step in the right direction, there is much more that can be done to help families find and afford child care. It called on Pennsylvania to continue to build a robust early learning sector while working to improve system quality and stability.
“We are encouraged that the enacted 2026-2027 will increase the Child Care Staff Recruitment and Retention program by $5 million, bringing the total to $30 million,” said Emily Neff, director of public policy for Trying Together. “It’s clear that the bonuses had a meaningful impact on early childhood educators, bringing some to tears when they received them.”
“A modest growth to the program is the next right step. However, we must think bigger and bolder to truly transform the early care and education system. We look forward to continuing to work with the governor, lieutenant governor, and the bipartisan group of ECE champions in the General Assembly to strengthen state investments and policy for early care and education.”
Budget Gives a Slight Boost to Pre-K Counts and Head Start
Additionally, Pre-K for PA responded to the passage of the 2026-27 budget, in particular the $3.75 million in new state funding for Pre-K Counts and $1.043 million for the Head Start Supplemental Assistance Program. They noted that this investment will help to stabilize early learning providers by increasing per-child rates – an important investment to help programs facing rising costs and persistent staffing shortages due to low wages.
While Pre-K for PA acknowledged that these funding increases are a meaningful step forward, they fall short of the level needed to fully address the challenges facing Pennsylvania’s early learning systems.
To meet the growing needs of children and families, they urged policymakers to invest additional funding to strengthen and expand these programs.
“We remain committed to working with policymakers to build on this progress through sustained investments that strengthen the early childhood workforce, address the ongoing teacher recruitment and retention crisis and ensure high-quality early learning programs remain strong, stable and accessible to families across the commonwealth,” Pre-K for PA said in the statement.
Early Intervention Funding Cut Creates Uncertainty for Families and Providers
Early Learning PA expressed concern over the $5.2 million cut to infant and toddler Early Intervention in the Department of Human Services budget. It noted that while policymakers have indicated they intend to use remaining funds from the current fiscal year to prevent service reductions, the 2.6% decrease creates confusion and uncertainty for families and providers alike.
“Early Intervention is a critical, federally required component of the early care and education continuum,” Early Learning PA’s statement read. “Children from birth through age 5 with developmental delays, regardless of family income, must be identified, referred to and provided the services they need to help them and their families reach their fullest potential.”
Early Learning PA referenced OCDEL’s Early Intervention Rate Methodology Study, which found that infant and toddler rates were underfunded by more than $71 million – nearly 40% – in fiscal year 2022-23. It noted that this deficit has continued to grow in the years since and is now upwards of $116 million. The ongoing rate deficit leads to workforce shortages, which severely constrains providers and ultimately affects families seeking services.
“Early Intervention programs continue to see significant annual increases in the number of children needing these critical services,” the statement concluded. “Moving forward, we will focus our efforts on ensuring families can continue to access the supports their children need.”
2026-27 PA State Budget Includes:
- $5 million in additional funding for the Child Care Staff Recruitment and Retention Program.
- $3.75 million in additional funding for the Pre-K Counts program.
- $1.043 million in additional funding for the Head Start Supplemental Assistance Program.
- $1.129 million for the Child Care Assistance line item.
- Level funding for the Child Care Services line item.
- A $5.2 million reduction in funding for the infant and toddler Early Intervention program in the Department of Human Services budget. The department is using prior-year funds to keep the program whole and maintain the rate increase provided in fiscal year 2025-26.
- $41.221 million in additional funding for preschool Early Intervention in the Department of Education budget.
- Level funding for evidence-based home visiting in the Community-Based Family Center line item, with a small reduction in the Nurse-Family Partnership line item due to a change in federal matching rates.
