December 2, 2024 Allegheny County Council to Vote on Proposed 2025 Budget Last week, the Allegheny County Budget and Finance Committee approved a budget with a 1.35 millage property tax increase rather than the proposed 2.2 mils, which would lead to significant cuts to the County Executive’s proposed budget. This budget will be discussed and voted on by the full council on December 3. What do these cuts mean? Of significant concern is a potential $23.2 million cut to the DHS budget which could greatly impact the children and families we serve and the child care sector. In order to leverage additional state funds and fully invest in critical human services in our region, the County needs to pass the County Executive’s proposed budget with the 2.2 mils property tax increase. These budget cuts could negatively impact children and families and their access to affordable, high-quality child care, as well as countless other important human services programming. What can you do? 1. Contact your council member by phone, email, or both and implore them to support a county budget that fully funds the Department of Human Services and does not leave any leveraged state monies on the table. See contact information below. 2. Request to speak at the December 3 council meeting to voice your support and urge approval of the full budget. Requests to comment must be submitted by 5 p.m. on December 2 by filling out the online form. If you do not wish to speak, you can still show your support by attending the meeting at the Allegheny County Courthouse (436 Grant Street, Pittsburgh, PA) on December 3. The meeting will be held on the 4th Floor in the Gold Room at 5 p.m. 3. Share with others how they too can urge their council members to support the full budget proposed by Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato. Find your council district Phone number: 412-350-6490 Allegheny Council District Council Member Email At Large Bethany Hallam Bethany.Hallam@alleghenycounty.us At Large Samuel DeMarco III Samuel.Demarco@alleghenycounty.us District 1 Jack Betkowski Jack.Betkowski@alleghenycounty.us District 2 Suzanne Filiaggi Suzanne.Filiaggi@alleghenycounty.us District 3 Anita Prizio Anita.Prizio@AlleghenyCounty.us District 4 Patrick Catena Patrick.Catena@alleghenycounty.us District 5 Dan Grzybek Daniel.Grzybek@alleghenycounty.us District 6 John F. Palmiere John.Palmiere@alleghenycounty.us District 7 Nicholas Futules Nicholas.Futules@alleghenycounty.us District 8 Michelle Naccarati-Chapkis Michelle.Chapkis@alleghenycounty.us District 9 Robert J. Macey Bob.Macey@alleghenycounty.us District 10 DeWitt Walton DeWitt.Walton@alleghenycounty.us District 11 Paul Klein Paul.Klein@alleghenycounty.us District 12 Robert Palmosina Robert.Palmosina@AlleghenyCounty.us District 13 David Bonaroti David.Bonaroti@alleghenycounty.us Chief of Staff Kenneth Varhola Kenneth.Varhola@alleghenycounty.us Learn More November 12, 2024- The proposed 2025 Allegheny County budget offers an incredible opportunity for our region’s children and families. We urge councilmembers to continue investments in child care and other critical human services that lift up families and enable them to thrive. The progress for young children, families, and our region’s economic growth depends on it. Allegheny County residents value giving children a strong start through accessible and affordable child care. Nearly 19,000 county residents shared their priorities through the All-In Community survey and made it clear that access and affordable child care (40%) and increased pay for child care workers (31%) matters. When the early learning sector struggles, there is a ripple effect. Our working families struggle, our businesses struggle, our local economy struggles. In a September survey from Start Strong PA, child care programs in Allegheny County reported 373 open positions, resulting in 128 closed classrooms. If those programs were fully staffed, 2,977 more children could be served. This is only a snapshot of about 20% of programs that responded across the county. Families in Allegheny County rely on child care and early learning programs. Child care providers are the workforce behind the workforce and necessary infrastructure for economic development and for Allegheny County to realize its full potential. We are grateful for the investments that Allegheny County has made in child care thus far. In January, the Allegheny County Executive directed an additional $500,000 to expand the Allegheny County Child Care Matters pilot program, which enabled additional families on a waiting list to receive subsidized child care. The Allegheny County Child Care Matters pilot program currently supports around 400 children. There is still more work to be done. The program has the potential to cover up to 15,000 children if fully funded. We support the proposed 2025 budget to invest in the services needed for children, families, and our communities to thrive. The impact of county investments will allow the county to unlock more state and federal funding and enable more children and families to have access to affordable, high-quality child care and other important human services programming. Resources Updates on Education and Workforce priorities for Allegheny County can be found here. You can find your county council district online. For more information, read the 2025 Budget Highlights for Allegheny County as well as the 2025 County Budget Toolkit.
April 29, 2024 Trying Together Exec Director Touts Importance of Child Care Access on Our Region’s Business Trying Together Executive Director Cara Ciminillo was featured on WPXI’s Our Region’s Business segment on Sunday, April 28. Ciminillo discussed the importance of child care access after the issue recently topped a survey from the Allegheny County Executive’s office. Learn More During the segment, WPXI’s Bill Flanagan noted that a lack of access to affordable child care could be the biggest barrier to building a workforce pipeline in the region. Ciminillo joined Kendra Ross, Director of Social Impact at Duolingo, and Dan DeBone, President & CEO of the Westmoreland County Chamber of Commerce, to discuss the issue. Ciminillo said Trying Together works to support child care workers in the field as well as improve quality and advocate on their behalf. “The crisis existed before the (COVID-19) pandemic, but the pandemic really just squeezed it,” she said. “All the other sectors have been able to move up their wages, but child care is really limited in its ability to do that. We know this is because families can’t afford more. The average infant-toddler child care slot is $12,000 per year. So, you can’t put more of those costs on families – they’re struggling already.” Ciminillo said the provider workforce doesn’t bring in enough money from state subsidies to augment that revenue formula. “The tax credit is great, but if you have 100% of the tax credit but you don’t have the staff to support the children who need the care, you can’t use the tax credit,” she said. “It’s really important that we invest in recruitment and retention of the workforce.” Ross said Duolingo was trying to provide grant money for child care organizations that don’t have enough resources. DeBone said the chamber of commerce advocates for legislation to help early child care programs. Last year, Trying Together partnered with Duolingo, the Early Excellence Project, and Candor & Co in the creation of a new program called “Early Learners First.” The program’s goal is to strengthen and enhance Pittsburgh’s early education system by investing in local child care programs. Duolingo, headquartered in East Liberty, pledged $1 million to the program. Trying Together also is a member of the Westmoreland County Chamber of Commerce and has partnered with the chamber to host informational sessions about the impact child care has on the economy. Affordable Child Care Access Tops Survey In the recent All in Allegheny Community Survey, increasing access to affordable child care and care for older adults to make it easier for workers and people participating in workforce training programs ranked first. The Allegheny County Executive’s office invited county residents to share their ideas, priorities, and needs with County Executive Sara Innamorato’s office through the survey. According to the survey results, affordable child or family care options was the top priority for 50.8% of all respondents. Other top issues included reduced-fare public transit, the creation of good-paying jobs, and protecting worker’s rights. To listen to what Ciminallo had to say, watch the Our Region’s Business segment. For more information on Trying Together’s advocacy regarding access to child care, visit our Public Policy Agenda page.
