From NICCA -- We are so grateful to have you behind child care, especially for Tribal children and families, as we continue to push towards high-quality, affordable child care! Because of your support and advocacy over the past few months, child care was not cut in the latest budget -- we got a slight increase in funding for early education and health!
The Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) will receive a $95 million increase in FY 2017, bringing total discretionary funding to $2.856 billion. This was a bigger increase than both the original House and Senate bills.
Head Start will receive an increase of $85 million over last year, including $80 million to cover cost of living increases and $5 million in additional funding to cover cost of living increases for Early Head Start-Child Care Partnerships, bringing total Head Start funding to $9.253 billion.
The 21st Century Community Learning Centers (CCLC) program, which supports afterschool care, received a $25 million increase.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) received an increase of $2 billion in new funds.
Your calls, emails, and messages to Congress allowed us to increase funding for critical programs serving children and working families.
But, we still have work to do! While the increase to CCDBG is significant, it's still not enough to fill the gaps! Additionally, we must educate our leadership at all levels to ensure that all families have affordable, accessible, and high-quality child care and continue to push for .
To learn more about the Trump Administration's child care proposal, read Improving the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit: A Step in the Right Direction, a blog from our partner, the National Women's Law Center.
To contact your Congressional leader to express your support and share the need for the $1.4 billion for child care in FY2018, visit this link.
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