Child Care and ECD Update: A Major Fight Looms Over Funding for Next Year

This week, both the House and Senate Appropriations Committees approved their FY 2016 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education spending measures, which is the legislation that provides annual funding for child care and early child development programs. As expected, both committees rejected the President’s major child care proposals.

The Senate bill includes a $150 million increase for the Child Care and Development Block Grant, which is to be dedicated towards costs associated with the new requirements under the 2014 law. The House version of this bill, which the Appropriations Committee approved on June 24, does not propose any increase in CCDBG funding for next year. However, both the House and Senate versions proposed increases for Head Start, including $192 million in the House and $100 million in the Senate. The increased funding would be dedicated towards expanding the Early Head Start-Child Care Partnership Program.

While it may come as welcoming news that child care and early child development programs will likely receive an increase in funds next year, it’s important to point out that neither bill would end the sequester or raise the budget caps established in the FY 2016 Congressional Budget Resolution.  Therefore, a considerable number of children could lose access to these programs if Congress does not restore funding before completing a final bill. In addition, both chambers proposed deep cuts to critical health and education programs, and eliminated certain programs including Preschool Development Grants.

The next steps on this legislation is unclear, but with President Obama likely vetoing any bill that doesn’t restore at least some of the proposed spending cuts, it’s next to impossible that an agreement between Congress and the White House will be reached by October 1, 2015.

We will keep you updated, and you can view the House bill here, and the details of the Senate bill here.

Summer Meals Act of 2015

Children enjoy a nutritious summer meal served at the Sandston Woods Apartment Complex in Henrico County, VA. Photo by USDA.gov.

By Jordan Soto, Summer Policy Intern

Earlier this week, the sponsors of the “Summer Meals Act of 2015” (HR 1728/ S. 613) held a briefing on Capitol Hill.

This legislation is a bipartisan and bicameral measure focused on the improvement and expansion of Summer Nutrition Programs. The Senate version is sponsored by Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), and the House version (H.R. 1728) is sponsored by Representatives Don Young (R-AK) and Rick Larsen (D-WA).

Summer Nutrition Programs help provide children from low-income families, relying on low cost or free meals during the school year with access to healthy and nutritious meals during summer months as well. This legislation is essential to children’s learning, development and health. These programs are implemented in many ways such as child care facilities.

The Summer Meals Act of 2015 focuses on improving Summer Nutrition Programs in four major ways. First, it proposes to change the eligibility standard. Currently, a site must have 50% of the children within the area eligible for low-cost or free meals in order to qualify for Summer Nutrition Programs. Under this proposal this standard would be lowered, making the requirement only 40% of children. The administrative process will be simplified enabling sponsors to provide children with meals year-round without having to apply separately to operate during the summer. At this time, agencies are providing children with only two meals per day but this proposal would increase that to three meals per day. Finally, it proposes making transportation grants available to sites enabling them to reach children in under served areas.

Not only do these programs provide children with the healthy meals they need but they also create an arena for continuous learning and help prevent the loss of learning over the summer. Further, these sites create an environment that will guide at-risk youth on a path toward success and help to pull them out of the cycle of poverty.

For more information on this bill, click here.