Child Care Needs Your Support with Congress Yet Again!

Every child deserves a strong start in life. But families across the nation can’t afford nutritious food or high-quality child care — so we must protect programs that impact children in the fiscal year of 2025 budget appropriations process.

Each of us needs to ask our Senators and Representatives: Please, now, build on the important gains made in early childhood education by increasing funding for the Child Care and Development Block Grants (CCDBG), Head Start & Early Head Start and Preschool Development Grants (PDG) — designating $12.4 billion, $16.5 billion and $500 million respectively. Please also consider joining the Dear Colleague letters currently circulating to ask the Appropriations Committee to increase funding for these essential programs.

Furthermore, please support $2.09 billion in funding for Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC), which provide safe and supportive environments for kids across all 50 states. Recent studies found that this after-school and summer learning program improves homework completion and student classroom behavior.

To give pregnant mothers and their children access to healthy nutrition, we must also ensure the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) receives the $7.75 billion anticipated to serve the projected 7 million participants in FY25. In addition, the WIC Farmers Market Nutrition Program (FMNP) needs $30 million to allow participants to buy eligible foods from small farmers and local economies.

Finally, to help children who receive school meals stay nourished in the summer, please add $101 million to waive the administrative match requirement for summer Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT), which is projected to serve 30 million children.

Thank you all for putting kids’ futures first!