Additional Resources & Information

Landscape of federal, state and local funding for early childhood education.

Early Childhood Education and Care by the First Five Years Fund 

The cost of care is too much for American families to afford, yet compensation levels for early childhood educators are so low many providers cannot make ends meet. Our market-based approach to providing care isn't working for most American families. 

Expert commentary by Louise Stoney

Texas was an early adopter of PreK and the Central Texas region has increased access to both PreK3 and PreK4 through public schools. However, expansion of PreK can have unintended consequences on the child care system especially for infants and toddlers. 

The Unintended Consequences of Universal Preschool

Universal Pre-K Pros & Cons | Universal Pre-K Explained

State and Local Strategies to Strengthen Infant and Toddler Care During Pre-K Expansion

Without thoughtful implementation, universal Pre-K could derail much of the country’s child care system, particularly for infants, toddlers, and their families. . Policy solutions that support a mixed delivery system–by offering Pre-K in community-based child care programs–can support a robust child care market and ensure families have access to early care and education that works for them.

Infographic

Visual Explainer

A number of states across the US expanded child care investments in 2023.  Here is an summary of actions including Louisiana, Alabama, Minnesota, Vermont, North Dakota, and Illinois.  The most notable was New Mexico passing a constitutional amendment that devotes a portion of the Land Grant Permanent Fund for a permanent steady investment in child care and early learning. In contrast, Texas failed to take significant action in 2023.

Michigan was the first state to implement a Tri-Share Model.

Kentucky launched a tri-share model in 2022.

North Carolina is launching a pilot in 3 counties in 2024!