Earlier this year, the Governor and the Legislature confirmed their commitment to increasing support for child care. Now, Pro-Kid organizations all across California are calling on them to show that commitment through action, starting with the Administration’s January budget proposal.
This month, 925 members of the Children’s Movement signed on to this letter urging the Governor to prioritize kids in the upcoming January budget by supporting higher reimbursement rates for child care providers and providing equitable child care opportunities for all kids. It was delivered to the Governor’s office as the January budget is being finalized, giving an unmistakable signal that child care needs to continue to be a top priority.
The Newsom Administration and the Legislature has shown a desire and willingness to support child care, including the adoption of a new, more-equitable family fee schedule in last year’s budget. The 925 organizations on this letter are demanding that policymakers’ support doesn’t end there, and that the upcoming January budget proposal demonstrates the commitments that were made and provides California families the child care necessary for kids – and all of California – to thrive.
The Honorable Gavin Newsom
Governor State of California
State Capitol Building
Sacramento, California 95814
Prioritize Kids: Affirm Your Commitment to the Alternative Rate Model for Early Care and Education Care and Fulfill the 200k Slot Expansion
Dear Governor Newsom,
We sincerely appreciate your Administration’s investments in the FY 2023-24 budget in support of Early Care and Education (ECE) rates and for the adoption of a new family fee schedule that is more equitable and will enable more families to stay in subsidized ECE programs. As you prepare to release your January Budget, a pivotal document that highlights the priorities of your administration, we, the undersigned organizations urge you to affirm your commitment to adopt the Alternative Methodology in your January Budget and ask you to continue the roll out of the 200,000 Early Care and Education (ECE) spaces, per the commitment made in 2021-2022 budget in this next budget. Too many families remain unserved and struggle to meet their obligations at work and at home due to a lack of access to ECE, further putting young children and their families at risk for toxic stress during a critical time in the child’s development; your Administration’s Roadmap for Resilience, elevates the critical connection between reducing toxic stress and having robust ECE options, which includes 95 mentions of the importance of quality child care settings in preventing lifelong negative impacts of ACEs on children and their families.
We urge you to do the following in your proposed January 2024-25 budget:
- Affirm your commitment to the timeline and benchmarks established in SB 140 in your January Budget, to move to an Alternative Methodology aligned with the recommendations of the state working group established pursuant Section 10280.2 and the Joint Labor Management Committee pursuant to Section 10280.2
- Ensure costs associated with moving to an Alternative Methodology build on the revised rates from last year – as a transition plan for the Alternative Methodology is developed, use the 2023-24 budget deal as the starting point so the state does not go back to prior, inadequate funding levels for ECE rates which were less than half the actual costs of providing early learning.
- Continue the roll out of the 200,000 child care spaces, per the commitment made in 2021-2022 budget
Inclusion of these key items in the January Budget Proposal will signal to California parents, small businesses, and industry alike, that the Newsom Administration takes seriously the needs of working women and people who are raising children and respects the hard-working individuals of the ECE industry who stepped up for California when it needed them most.
Sincerely,
The Undersigned Organizations
