November 2021 Monthly Update
Dear Friends and Partners,
It’s the season of giving thanks and we are exceedingly grateful for the support we have received from our partners over the past few months as we have raised funds for child care providers. In the aftermath of Hurricane Ida, we launched the Hurricane Ida Recovery Fund in partnership with Agenda for Children to support child care providers most heavily impacted by the hurricane. We are proud to report that we have exceeded our original goal of $500,000 and raised over $540K!
We continue to follow federal actions impacting young children, particularly the Build Back Better proposal being debated in Congress. While it seemed that the Act was likely to pass a few weeks ago, which would extend the expanded child tax credit and invest a historic amount of money in child care and preschool programs, its momentum has slowed as moderate Democrats in the House have requested a study from the Congressional Budget Office. We remain hopeful that federal action will be taken and will produce positive results for our country’s youngest learners. However, regardless of what happens in Congress, we know we continue to need state-level investment in our youngest children. Currently, Louisiana spends less than ½ of 1% of the state’s budget on early care and education, despite our tremendous need and the significant potential return on investment. If the Build Back Better proposal does pass, states that opt into the program will need to make a state match of funding in later years. For both reasons, it is imperative our state leaders continue to look for ways to better support a quality, affordable early care and education system in Louisiana.