Although Congress has completed its work on the fiscal year 2010 budget, the Obama Administration yesterday released the details of its 2010 budget, supplementing the broad outline released earlier in the year.  The Administration's budget is important because it will serve as the guideline for action by the congressional appropriations committees.  Congress, however, is free to make different funding level decisions through the appropriations process which now begins in earnest. 

 

President Obama's budget would provide funding for several new early care and education programs, including $500 million for Title I Early Childhood Grants, $300 million for the Early Learning Challenge Fund, and $124 million for a Home Visitation initiative.  At the same time, the budget proposes only modest increases for existing programs such as Head Start, and no new funding for other programs such as the Child Care and Development Block Grant and the 21^st Century Community Learning Centers after-school program.

 

While we appreciate the funding for child care, Head Start, and other education programs under the ARRA, there continues to be unmet need for many children and families.   As we move forward, additional funding for the core early childhood programs as well as any new initiatives will be essential to addressing the gaps in access and quality of early childhood education from birth through third grade for all children.

 

 

The Administration's proposal for fiscal year 2010 spending levels for early childhood education programs includes:

 

Head Start/Early Head Start would receive an increase of $122 million for total FY 2010 spending of $7.235 billion.  This rather modest increase is intended to "ensure that the portion of grantees' FY 2009 cost-of-living adjustment paid for with Recovery Act monies remains available to grantees within their base funding in FY 2010. The FY 2010 increase, combined with Recovery Act resources, enables Head Start to sustain the FY 2009 increase in children served in FY 2010."

 

Child Care (CCDBG) would be level-funded at $2.1 billion.  CCDBG received $2 billion in the ARRA to spend over two years.    

 

Early Learning Challenge Fund, proposed in the President's campaign, would be funded at $300 million. The description of the early learning challenge grants in the Department of Education's section of the budget states that it would create "competitive grants to State educational agencies, or the agency in a State that administers early childhood programs, for the development of a statewide infrastructure of integrated early learning supports and services for children, from birth through age 5.  This infrastructure would provide a pathway to a high standard of quality across all publicly funded early learning programs in the State. Grants would enable States to raise their standards, build systems that promote quality and ensure the effectiveness of their early learning programs, and monitor all publicly funded early childhood programs' performance against the State's standards. This program, a central component of the President's early education agenda, complements existing and proposed Federal investments in Head Start and Early Head Start, home visitation, the Child Care Development Fund, Title I preschool, and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

 

States receiving an Early Learning Challenge Fund award would be required to develop and establish a system of research-based metrics and measures for addressing essential aspects of program quality, such as child health and safety, the effectiveness of the early learning environment, the qualifications of early education staff, research- based curricula, and program effectiveness, including child outcomes. Through the implementation of their grants, States would establish a pathway to high quality, beginning with a basic level of standards for licensing, and support the enhancement of programs as they progress to higher levels of quality over time."  This proposed new program will require an authorization by Congress.   

 

Even Start funds would be eliminated ($69 million in FY 2009).  Early Reading First would receive a $50 million increase.  Reading First funding would not continue under the fiscal year 2010 request.  The budget request also would fund a new Early Literacy Grants demonstration program that would allow school districts to try a variety of strategies designed to improve children's reading comprehension in the elementary grades.  The $300 million request for this initiative would fund up to 70 grants.

Title I grants to school districts would be reduced by $1.5 billion.  The school improvement grants would be increased by nearly $1 billion and there would be a new funding stream of Title I Early Childhood Grants for $500 million.  The Title I Early Childhood Grants would be available to states so that districts that used their ARRA Title I funds for early childhood education could receive a portion of these new funds "to expand existing preK programs or to develop and implement new ones serving economically disadvantaged preschool students." 

 

A new home visitation program would be funded at $8.6 billion over ten years (mandatory, not discretionary funding) to States for "evidence based home visitation programs for low-income families... When implemented properly, such programs have sizeable effects on child outcomes. The policy is estimated to save Medicaid $664 million over 10 years, including $189 million in 2019." 

IDEA Preschool Grants and Grants for Infants and Toddlers would be funded at the same FY 2009 levels, not including the ARRA funding for FY 2009 (ARRA provided $400 million for IDEA Preschool and $500 million for Infants and Toddlers).

 

CAMPIS programs would be level-funded. 21^st Century Community Learning Centers (after-school) would be level-funded.

 

Foundations for Learning, funds for supporting children's social and emotional development, would be eliminated ($1 million). The Administration proposes instead to reallocate these funds to the Mental Health integration program, linking school-based systems with local mental health systems. 

 

Promise Neighborhoods program is funded at $10 million.  This initiative would provide one year of planning grants to nonprofit community organizations for comprehensive neighborhood programs to support children from preschool through college.

 

 

As noted earlier and as you know from experience, the Administration's budget is a recommendation to Congress on spending priorities.  It now is up to Congress to consider these spending requests and move forward with their decisions for the appropriations bills.  NAEYC encourages everyone to stay in touch with your congressional delegation to ensure that your members of Congress make investments in new and core programs for young children and families a priority.