Ask Congress to Fund Child Care Facilities in FY 2023 Appropriations Bills
The National Children’s Facilities Network (NCFN) urges all child care stakeholders to sign on to a letter requesting that Congress provide funding for child care facilities in the upcoming federal spending bills. Federal lawmakers are preparing appropriations bills to fund all federal programs for the upcoming fiscal year (FY) 2023. Now is the time to ask Congress to include funding for child care facilities as they draft their priorities. Read the letter here > Sign on here >
The deadline to sign the letter is the end of the day on Monday, April 25.
Why Fund Child Care Facilities?
There is currently no dedicated source of federal funding to acquire, construct, or majorly renovate child care facilities. This lack of funding has far-reaching consequences on both the quality and supply of our nation’s child care:
Quality: Child care providers do not have access to sufficient resources to upgrade their facilities to meet best practices related to health, safety, child development, and teacher well-being. Investing in facility upgrades can help immediately improve program quality, as well as preserve and sustain the existing stock of child care slots for future generations.
Supply: Our nation has a severe child care supply challenge. Across 35 states, the families of 3.4 million children who want child care are unable to access it due to limited supply. Federal funding to increase the supply of quality child care will strengthen the entire ecosystem that relies on quality care – including caregivers, providers, employers, economies, and more.
Child care facilities are an essential, yet often overlooked, piece of a comprehensive early care and education ecosystem that requires robust public sector investment. Robust funding for programs like the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG), Head Start Programs, Preschool Development Grants, and more is critical to ensuring that providers and the workforce have sufficient operating resources to support strong, healthy programs.
After signing the letter, join @ECEFacilities on social media using #BuildUpChildCare and urge your partners to sign-on before the April 25 deadline.