February 4, 2025 ELPA Responds to Governor Shapiro’s 2025-26 Pennsylvania Budget Proposal On February 4, 2024, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro released his 2024-25 state budget proposal. The principal partners of Early Learning Pennsylvania (ELPA), a statewide coalition of advocates focused on supporting young Pennsylvanians from birth to age five, applauded the early education workforce investments included in the Shapiro Administration’s 2025-26 state budget proposal. “Investments that will stabilize and reverse the exodus of early educators will directly benefit tens of thousands of teachers and other professional staff and help provider businesses remain open,” the ELPA partners said in a statement issued Tuesday afternoon. “Additionally, these investments will help reverse the billions of dollars in lost productivity and earnings suffered by working families and employers when families don’t have the care they need. ” ELPA operates four issue-based advocacy campaigns: Pre-K for PA, Start Strong PA, Childhood Begins at Home, and Thriving PA. Governor Shapiro’s state budget proposal includes: $57.7 million in additional funding for child care ($55 million in the proposed new Child Care Recruitment and Retention line item as well $1.6 million in Child Care Services and $1.1 million in Child Care Assistance line items) $17 million in additional funding for the state’s Pre-K Counts program Level funding for the Head Start Supplemental Assistance Program Level funding for evidence-based home visiting in the Community-Based Family Center line item and a small reduction in the Nurse-Family Partnership line due to a change in federal matching rates $16.2 million increase for the Early Intervention Part C (infant and toddler) program through DHS $14.6 million increase for the Early Intervention Part B (age three to five) program through PDE Learn More Budget proposal takes direct action to address PA’s child care teacher crisis A $55 million recurring investment estimates an additional $1,000 per educator increase for licensed child care programs participating in the child care subsidy program. Start Strong PA “celebrates the Shapiro Administration’s proposal to directly invest in a child care teacher recruitment and retention program that will help keep teachers in the classroom so that working families have access to the care they need.” With this investment, Pennsylvania is joining 18 other states that are directly investing in teacher recruitment and retention efforts to keep child care classrooms open for the benefit of working parents and the economy at large. Recent estimates show that gaps in Pennsylvania’s child care system cost working families, employers, and taxpayers a staggering $6.65 billion annually — in lost earnings, productivity, and tax revenue. “Start Strong PA looks forward to working with the House and Senate to ensure these urgently needed funds are included in the final budget and to the extent that state budget resources are available, increasing the investment so we can more fully address the child care crisis and its impact on working families and employers.” Shapiro proposal increases Pre-K Counts rates to address continuing teacher shortage; additional action needed for Head Start $15 million in new state funding to help stabilize early learning providers by boosting per child rates to help combat inflationary pressures and staffing shortages caused by low wages. Pre-K for PA “applauds the Shapiro Administration’s continued commitment to address the historic teacher staffing shortage in the Pre-K Counts program.” “Opportunities for teachers to earn more in the K-12 system and other sectors have challenged Pre-K Counts providers to keep classrooms open and operate at full capacity. This investment is a critical next step in preserving state funded pre-k programs for our commonwealth’s youngest learners.” Because the commonwealth’s Head Start Supplemental programs face similar staffing challenges, Pre-K for PA expressed disappointment that the budget proposal did not offer similar support and urges urges lawmakers to include increased funding in the final state budget to stabilize the Head Start workforce. “Mitigating teacher shortages in Pennsylvania’s publicly funded pre-k programs is a necessary first step in ensuring that all children have access to this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” their statement read. “Currently, 78,000 three- and four-year-olds in the commonwealth are eligible but do not have access to high-quality pre-k programs.” Budget proposal also gives nod to significant workforce challenges in Early Intervention Inclusion of a proposed $16.2 million increase for Early Intervention Part C (infants and toddlers) in the Department of Human Services budget Increase of $14.6 million for Early Intervention Part B (age three to five) in the Department of Education budget. Thriving PA expressed appreciation for the investment. “Early Intervention is a critical part of the Thriving PA campaign, as all children from birth through age five with developmental delays, regardless of family income level, must be identified, referred to, and provided necessary services to help them and their families reach their fullest potential.” However, they also noted that significantly more dollars are needed to adequately deliver Part C EI to children in Pennsylvania. A total of $10 million of this overall investment aims to address key challenges in the sector including workforce shortages, and they urge policymakers to build on this momentum. Fewer young children, families and pregnant women will be served by home visiting services due to continued flat funding and loss of federal funds The Childhood Begins at Home campaign expressed concern that the proposed 2025-26 budget does not account for the loss of federal funds expiring in June nor the continued rising costs of providing these life-changing services. “Without any assurance that the state will account for rising costs and backfill federal dollars, this ultimately will mean fewer home visiting services for Pennsylvania families impacted by economic and social disparities,” they said. “Home visitors are supportive partners who build a trusting relationship with families and help guide them through the early stages of having and raising a child. The evidence-based models show positive outcomes, from improving health for both children and adults to achieving economic self-sufficiency to reducing child maltreatment. Childhood Begins at Home will continue to work with policymakers in the legislature and the administration to ensure Pennsylvania does not unnecessarily see a reduction in families receiving and benefitting from evidence-based home visiting services.”
March 6, 2020 Washington County Focus Week Urges Increased Investments In March 2020, Trying Together, Pre-K for PA, and Start Strong PA are co-hosting the Washington County Focus Week to highlight the need for increased child care and pre-kindergarten investments in future Pennsylvania budgets. About Taking place from March 9 through March 13, 2020, the Washington County Focus Week seeks to: highlight quality infant and toddler child care in Washington and Allegheny County; thank state policymakers for investments in high-quality early learning programs; document continued unmet need for high-quality child care and pre-k in Washington and Allegheny County; and urge state policymakers to make high-quality child care and pre-k top priorities in future state budgets to increase access to and the affordability of these critical programs. The Washington County Focus Week is one of many to come. Pre-K For PA, Start Strong PA, and campaign partner organizations like Trying Together will host additional Focus Weeks in districts across the Commonwealth throughout the year. These weeks were developed, in part, due to the need for increased child care funding in the Pennsylvania state budget, as 73 percent of eligible children under the age of five are not receiving high-quality child care services. Why It Matters According to the Committee for Economic Development’s 2019 Child Care in State Economies Fact Sheet, the average annual cost of child care for an infant in Pennsylvania is $11,560 in a child care center. That is roughly 21 percent of the state’s median income and 80 percent of the cost of tuition and fees at a four-year state college in Pennsylvania. These costs remain a major barrier for many parents and caregivers, especially those who are seeking to enter, re-enter, or remain in the workforce. Issues of access are not limited to child care, however, as 56 percent of eligible three- and four-year-olds in Pennsylvania do not have access to high-quality, publicly funded pre-k according to recent data from KIDS COUNT: Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children. Locally, 55 percent of eligible children in Washington County do not have access to high-quality, publicly funded pre-k. Both Pre-K For PA and Start Strong PA commented on the most recent 2020-2021 Pennsylvania State Budget proposal, stating, “Although the Governor’s budget proposal utilizes $15.3 million in federal funding toward child care subsidy base rates, this proposal will have no impact in addressing the list of children waiting to gain access to subsidized care or improve the quality of that care.” No Small Matter Screening On March 12 from 6 – 8 p.m. at the Collier Community Center (which lies on the border of Washington and Allegheny Counties in Oakdale, Pennsylvania) Washington County constituents are invited to attend a free screening and panel discussion of the early childhood documentary, No Small Matter. Through poignant stories and surprising humor, No Small Matter lays out the overwhelming evidence for the importance of the first five years of life and reveals how our failure to act on that evidence has resulted in an everyday crisis for American families, and a slow-motion catastrophe for the entire country. These crises are playing out in Pennsylvania, as families and caregivers across the Commonwealth are struggling to access high-quality pre-kindergarten and child care programs. Panelists will include: Senator Camera Bartolotta Representative Jason Ortitay Representative Timothy J. O’Neal Donna Shriver, SmartKids Child Care & Learning Center Audra Redick, The University of Pittsburgh’s Office of Child Development Visit our event webpage to register and learn more! More Information For more information about the Washington County Focus Week and the additional early learning advocacy efforts of Trying Together, contact Cristina Codario, Public Policy Regional Coordinator at 412.567.3673 or cristina@tryingtogether.org. For more information about Pre-K For PA or Start Strong PA, visit www.prekforpa.org and www.startstrongpa.org online respectively.
