POLITICO: Democratic Women Governors “Pick Up The Slack” On Child Care Funding

POLITICO: Democratic Women Governors “Pick Up The Slack” On Child Care Funding

Last week, POLITICO’s Women Rule newsletter detailed how Democratic women governors are stepping up to make sure child care is funded as MAGA Republicans in Congress continue to stall any legislation at the federal level.

According to Anna Lovejoy, Director of Early Childhood Policy at the Center for American Progress, with federal funding in limbo due to congressional inaction, “women Governors – especially Democrats — are the ones to watch.”

 Here are some of the ways Women Rule notes that Democratic women governors are leading the way to fund child care: 

• In Massachusetts, Healey announced plans to pursue about $93 million in new child care spending, and she’s requesting an additional $475 million to extend pandemic-era grants to support early education providers.
• Hobbs proposed $100 million for Arizona’s Child Care Assistance program.
• Whitmer, during her State of the State, announced that she was bumping up the timeline for her plan to provide free preschool for all four-year-olds, from 2026 to the end of 2024.
• Hochul’s proposal maintains last year’s $7 billion commitment to child care over four years and $1.8 billion in subsidized care.
• Kelly’s budget proposes $56 million to expand child care slots and support the child care workforce, which would be the largest single-year investment in early childhood care and education in the state, and recently also announced plans to create 458 new child care slots.

Read the full report here.

###