The House Early Childhood Finance and Policy Division heard good news Feb 24: child care and early childhood education is well-funded in the federal stimulus package.
Some of the estimated $821.4 million Minnesota expects for education may reach early childhood programs, although states must prioritize restoring K-12 and higher education funding to prior levels, said Michelle Weber, the Education Department’s director of government relations.
The state’s special education programs servicing children from birth through 5 years old should see $14.3 million through fiscal year 2011. Its Head Start programs should see about $7.8 million in additional funds, to be used for increasing provider rates and creating additional sites and Early Head Start programs.
Another pool of incentive grant funds is available, Weber said, and some Minnesota early childhood programs or initiatives will likely qualify.
Minnesota can also expect $26.1 million in additional child care development funds, Human Services Department Assistant Commissioner for Children and Families Chuck Johnson told the division: $22.7 million for assistance to low-income families, which could be used to increase county allocations for Basic Sliding Fee Child Care; a $2.2 million “set-aside” targeted to quality improvement; and $1.25 million for infant and toddler programs.
Members questioned whether the governor will now adjust the nearly $11 million in cuts proposed earlier to child care subsidies, and whether the one-time cash infusion to early childhood programs will skew the state’s maintenance of effort appropriation in the future.
Johnson and Weber noted the federal stimulus funds are intended to “supplement, not supplant” state and local matching funds for child care or education programs, but said it is not yet clear to which fiscal year supplemental funds would be correlated.
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