Early Childhood Development

Investing In America’s Children Investing in America’s children is an investment in America’s future Supplying early childhood development programs can help break the cycle of poverty We focus our efforts on quality early education and child care

Early Education Research shows that children who participated in a quality program during their preschool years are better prepared to learn, have higher self-esteem, and more developed social skills when they start kindergarten.

Head Start Federally funded program, provides comprehensive child development services to disadvantaged preschool children and their families. These services include: o School readiness and cognitive development services o Frequent medical screening, immunizations, and dental services o Healthy nutritional assistance o Referral services for a range of individual child and family needs o An opportunity for parents to participate in school decision-making

Early Head Start Federally funded program with a mission to promote healthy prenatal outcomes for pregnant women, enhance the development of children ages 3 and under, and promotes healthy family functioning. These services include: o Quality early education both in and out of the home o Parenting education o Comprehensive health and mental health services, including services to women before, during, and after pregnancy o Nutrition education o Family support services

Child Care Affordable and quality child care is crucial to parent’s productivity at work and children’s intellectual development Vital for working families, especially low-income families who want to move out of poverty But, the cost of child care is often too expensive for low income and moderate-income working families

The Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) Funding of CCDBG comes from three sources: CCDBG funding is included at a mandatory level specified in the welfare law Congress annually appropriates a discretionary amount States may choose to use part of their federal welfare block grant. The amount varies from year to year and has decreased dramatically because of states’ fiscal crises.

Economic Recovery Bill Invests in Early Childhood Development The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act included $2.1 billion in temporary funding for Head Start ($1.1 billion of that is for Early Head Start). ARRA also included an additional $2 billion in CCDBG funds to provide services to an additional 300,000 children and their families.

What Congress Can Do This Year We ask Congress to consider a $1 billion increase each for CCDBG and Head Start for FY 2010 so that the programs continue to be financially supported after the temporary stimulus money runs out. Key Players: o Senate Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Ranking Member Thad Cochran (R-MS). o House Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman David Obey (D-WI) and Ranking Member Todd Tiahrt (R-KS).