View source for Promising options for Early Childhood Funding

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= Background on Early Childhood Education Funding in the U.S.&nbsp; =

Investments in early childhood education has been historically neglected, as greater funding has been given in the K-12 years. But, the importance of focusing on early brain development is critical, as research has shown that through monetary investments to increase the quality of early childhood education, they can provide life-long brain health benefits&nbsp;<ref>https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/state-of-american-philanthropy-pdfs/giving-for-early-childhood-education</ref>. The inconsistencies between the different daycares, home-based family care and preschool options leads to various qualities in care and insufficient funding for these services&nbsp;<ref>https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/state-of-american-philanthropy-pdfs/giving-for-early-childhood-education</ref>.

Specifically, countries of similar wealth spend 0.7 percent of their G.D.P. &nbsp;on early&nbsp; childhood education for children under 2 compared to the U.S., which spends 0.2 percent of its G.D.P.<ref>https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/state-of-american-philanthropy-pdfs/giving-for-early-childhood-education
</ref>. The low funding in early childhood education provides a decreased number of licensed child care spots for families, and available options are typically unaffordable, and only 1 in 6 families who are eligible for subsidies received the financial aid <ref>https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/state-of-american-philanthropy-pdfs/giving-for-early-childhood-education</ref>.

The limited availability of early childhood education services, coming from the decreased funding, disproportionately affects people of colour <ref>https://www.americanprogress.org/article/costly-unavailable-america-lacks-sufficient-child-care-supply-infants-toddlers/</ref>. Hispanic families are less than half as likely to use licensed child care compared to non-Hispanic white families<ref>https://www.americanprogress.org/article/costly-unavailable-america-lacks-sufficient-child-care-supply-infants-toddlers/</ref>. In addition, black Americans are twice as likely to make job salaries because of the child care challenges compared to non-Hispanic white families <ref>https://www.americanprogress.org/article/costly-unavailable-america-lacks-sufficient-child-care-supply-infants-toddlers/</ref>.&nbsp;

The pandemic has greatly impacted this issue, with 26 states reducing their spending on early childhood education by $254 million compared to the year before&nbsp;<ref>https://www.usnews.com/news/education-news/articles/2022-04-26/how-the-pandemic-devastated-state-run-early-education</ref>.

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= Philanthropic Networks Supporting Early Childhood Development =

As funders increasingly see the need to work together for greater impact, the promise of funding collaboratives is growing.&nbsp; Here are funding collaboratives that support early childhood education and development.&nbsp;

*Early Childhood Funders Collaborative 
**ECFC members overcome issues related to early childhood in their respective states, while cooperating with government partners to advocate for issues around early childhood education funding&nbsp; 
**Focus on child care and early childhood financing, children in immigrant families, covid-19, collaborative initiatives, early rational health, policy and racial equity&nbsp; 
**Have created the Rising Child Care Fund, which provides&nbsp; grassroot organizations in different states with resources to advocate for accessible early childhood education for all 
**[https://ecfunders.org/ Website]   
*The Early Educator Investment Collaborative 
**Goal is to assists early educators with achieving their greatest potential as professionals, and ensuring that children are prepared to succeed in school and in their lives 
**Driven to invest in educators, and to work across different organizations and sectors to achieve the highest professional development, based on foundational research and collective work 
**[https://earlyedcollaborative.org/ Website]   
*Trust for Learning 
**Mission is to expand early childhood education services to historically underserved children, and believe these services should be affordable, accessible and socioeconomically integrated&nbsp; 
**To expand programs, Trust for Learning aims to change key policies to support ideal learning, builds an equitable movement for these policies and focuses on quality of services 
**Ideal learning environments includes a commitment to equity, instruction is personalized to every student, where teachers have a nurturing presence and childhood is valued while supporting adult development&nbsp; 
**[https://trustforlearning.org/ Website&nbsp;]   
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Project LAUNCH (Linking Actions for Unmet Needs in Children’s Health)

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Federal-level partnership between the Administration for Children and Families, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration,&nbsp;the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Health Resources and Services Administration

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Promotes the wellness of children from birth to 8, by focusing on the cognitive,&nbsp;behavioral, social, physical and emotional aspects of child development&nbsp;

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Main mission is to ensure every child is ready when entering school and succeeds

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Seeks to improve coordination between child-serving services, and increase access to these services for families and their children&nbsp;

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[https://healthysafechildren.org/grantee/project-launch Website]
  

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