Facts In Action

The State FY04 budget process has come to a close, with relatively few cuts for the early care and education field. In late June, the Legislature's Conference Committee-three state Representatives and three state Senators-released their FY04 budget recommendations. Remaining close to its FY03 level, funding for the Office of Child Care Services Low-Income Families is $281.92 million - representing a cut of approximately .3%. The line item for Supportive/Protective services also received a small cut of $2 million, down to $48.34 million. Head Start funding remained at the same level as FY03.

Some programs did not fare as well. The Resource and Referral program was cut 18% from FY03 to $10.04 million. In addition, funding for the Community Partnerships program, which remained in the Department of Education, was cut by $10 million, representing a nearly 12% cut from FY03.

Other important changes have been made through budget language. The Conference Committee added language that extended the work requirements for mothers receiving welfare benefits to mothers of children ages 2-5 years old. Previously, these requirements were only applied to mothers of children 6 years and older. This change can most likely be expected to increase the need for child care, as it means more mothers entering the workforce.

The final budget also includes language creating a three member Council on Early Education and Care, charged with developing a "comprehensive plan to coordinate, integrate and streamline publicly funded early education and care administration and functions." Further, the language includes a provision that begins the process of creating a workforce system to support the education, training, and compensation of the early childhood workforce. Many see this language as well as the limited cuts as an important victory for the early care and education field. The calls, letters and other advocacy efforts generated by the early childhood field successfully impacted legislators' understanding of the importance of these services for children and families.

What does this mean for programs and the families they serve? The cut to Resource and Referral will mean rising caseloads for staff at local resource and referral agencies, and potentially fewer staff available to help families trying to get information or find child care. The $10 million loss to Community Partnerships will mean fewer resources for training of staff, support of accreditation, and possibly fewer slots for children. The cut to supportive/protective services means fewer child care resources for children whose families have open cases with the Department of Social Services. Otherwise, compared to many other social service programs, early care and education fared well during a state fiscal deficit.

Facts in Action, July/August 2003