Promising options for Early Childhood Funding

Return to Increase & Diversity Funding to Address ACEs and Improve Resilience

Background on Early Childhood Education Funding in the U.S. 

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 . 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 .

Specifically, countries of similar wealth spend 0.7 percent of their G.D.P.  on early  childhood education for children under 2 compared to the U.S., which spends 0.2 percent of its G.D.P.. 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 .

The limited availability of early childhood education services, coming from the decreased funding, disproportionately affects people of colour . Hispanic families are less than half as likely to use licensed child care compared to non-Hispanic white families. In addition, black Americans are twice as likely to make job salaries because of the child care challenges compared to non-Hispanic white families . 

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 .

 

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.  Here are funding collaboratives that support early childhood education and development. 

• 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 
  • Focus on child care and early childhood financing, children in immigrant families, covid-19, collaborative initiatives, early rational health, policy and racial equity 
  • Have created the Rising Child Care Fund, which provides  grassroot organizations in different states with resources to advocate for accessible early childhood education for all
  • 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
  • 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 
  • 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 
  • Website 

Project LAUNCH (Linking Actions for Unmet Needs in Children’s Health)

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

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

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

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

 

Website