GET THE RIGHT STUFF DONE ON CHILD CARE Governors of every stripe are asking their legislatures to make historic increases in funds for child care and pre-k. In just the last 12 months, New York Governor Kathy Hochul won legislative approval for a hefty half...
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Early Learning
TESTIMONY: Child Literacy – PA House of Representatives
Testimony Presented by Donna Cooper, Executive Director, Children First PA to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Joint Hearing Education and Appropriations Committee October 24, 2023 Currently, more than 50,000 third graders in the state are struggling with...
150,000 PA kids need you – Sept 29, 2023
ALL OF THIS COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED More than 150,000 PA kids are going to lose their child care because the end of federal funds will force around 3,000 programs to close, leaving over 11,000 workers out of a job. Governor Shapiro, all of this could have been...
Are You Holding Your Breath Under Water – Jul 21, 2023
ROCKY WATERS FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION The political waters in Harrisburg over the budget are rockier than wave surfing on the Jersey shore. But some sectors are experiencing a hardcore wipeout. Fortunately, families receiving the child care subsidy are...
Politics Makes Strange Bedfellows – Jun 9, 2023
WHAT BRINGS EVERYONE TO THE TABLE? CHILD CARE! It’s not often that child advocates and one Chamber of Commerce – let alone 55 of them – stand side-by-side on an issue. But the crisis in child care is so severe that unusual partners are joining forces to urge...
Is the federal debt deal good for kids? – Jun 2, 2023
KIDS PAY THE PRICE FOR DEBT DEAL In true form, the media coverage of the spectacle debt ceiling crisis failed to connect the details of how what was being debated would affect everyday life. It no surprise, then, that most Americans don’t even know that the...
TESTIMONY: PHLPreK – May 2023
Children First invited three parents to submit testimony to Philadelphia City Council on expansion of available slots for PHLpreK. Read testimony from: Dina Kassymbekova Read testimony from: Stephanie Santiago Read testimony from Melissa Suarez
The Demand for PHLpreK in Philadelphia
PHLpreK is a free, quality pre-k program offered by the City of Philadelphia to any child who is 3 or 4 years old. The program is offered to 4,300 children through 179 early childhood education providers city-wide; 92% of all seats were filled (3,950 children) in...
Another financial breakdown looms – Mar 17, 2023
Sounding the Alarm on Child Care Collapse Billions of dollars are at stake in the recent bank closures in the U.S. Financial forecasters are alarmed about the possible fallout without lawmaker action, including widespread layoffs and company closures. Nearly $7...
REPORT: The High Cost of Working in Early Childhood Education
There is no doubt that high-quality early childhood education (ECE) is a win for everyone – children, parents, employers, and our economy. Yet this critical sector is on the brink of a breakdown. To understand the depth of the stress on the child care sector,...