Who We Are
The Early Learning Action Alliance is a broad coalition of organizations representing a diverse array of Washington nonprofits, professional associations, businesses, and industries. We are united by the belief that all children in Washington state deserve to have the opportunities and support they need in their first five years of life to be prepared for school and a bright future. View our members.
Why Early Learning
Children are born learning. Evidence shows that high-quality early learning in culturally and linguistically responsive environments, characterized by nurturing relationships and rich opportunities for play and exploration, lays the foundation for essential social, emotional, and cognitive skills. High-quality early learning is an essential part of any strategy to close the opportunity gap facing too many of Washington’s children in low-income families and children of color.
The Problem
All children deserve the chance to succeed in life. Yet more than half of the children in Washington state enter kindergarten without the basic skills they need to thrive. Quality child care, preschool, and family care options remain out of reach for hundreds of thousands of middle- and low-income families. Too many Washington parents do not have access to high-quality, culturally and linguistically responsive care that they can afford.
Our Long-Term Priorities
We need researched, market-driven policies that will give all young children the skills they need to start school ready to succeed. These policies should support parents as their children’s first and most important teachers and provide a range of culturally relevant support services to families who need them.
A range of top quality child care, family care and preschool options must be available to all families. Professional development opportunities must be accessible to the thousands of child care professionals across the state. Together, we can help make Washington state a place where all families and young children have the opportunities they need to thrive.
Who Benefits
When we close the opportunity gap, we’ll narrow the school achievement gap, which will result in higher employment levels later on in life. Communities that prioritize early learning see substantial social and economic returns. Smart investments in early learning yield positive returns for families and communities across Washington state.
Our 2021 Legislative Agenda
We call on state lawmakers to:
Raise Revenue to Invest in Kids
- Create progressive state revenue streams that provide robust, stable, and necessary funding and do not supplant existing state nor federal early learning funding
Help Families Afford the High Cost of Quality Child Care
- Strengthen Working Connections Child Care (WCCC), which helps tens of thousands of Washington families connect their kids with trained and experienced caregivers so parents can work.
Support the Early Care and Education Workforce
- Stabilize and strengthen our early learning system and support the dedicated professionals who care for Washington’s next generation.
Assure Ongoing, Direct Support to Families Through Home Visiting
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Maintain funding for voluntary, long-term home visiting services, so families have the resources, information, and services to support their children’s overall development
Keep Strong Preschool Supports in Place
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Lawmakers should increase provider rates by 7% in the Early Childhood Education Assistance Program: quality pre-K that fights poverty with a two-generation approach.
Support Fair Starts for Kids (HB 1213 & SB 5237) - Expand Access to Quality Early Learning Through Comprehensive Investments & Strategies
- Lawmakers must increase family access to quality early learning programs, including more care options for infants and toddlers, expand care options and early learning supports across the state and address child care deserts, particularly in rural areas, expand dual language learning, invest in culturally relevant and responsive care. Legislators must reflect the ‘true cost of quality’ in provider reimbursements, compensation, family eligibility, and affordability. Oversight should be driven by early learning experts including families and providers, backed by disaggregated data by race and ethnicity, and reflect recommendations from the Child Care Collaborative Task Force and reports on workforce compensation.
Read our complete 2021 Legislative Agenda (PDF).
In 2015, we worked with Governor Jay Inslee and the Washington State Legislature to pass the Early Start Act, along with an historic investment, to develop Washington’s base of high-quality early learning opportunities. In 2017 we expanded access to high-quality prekindergarten through the Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program, or ECEAP, and ensured a continued high priority to early learning within the new Department of Children, Youth and Families.
Find more resources in the ELAA Link Library. Or sign up for the ELAA newsletter.
Membership
Membership is open to any organization that agrees with our mission and guiding principles and is not a target of our advocacy at the state or federal level. For membership details, please read the Early Learning Action Alliance Charter (PDF).
The Early Learning Action Alliance is convened by the Children’s Alliance. To learn more, please contact:
elaa(at)childrensalliance(dot)org or Jenny Yi, Legislative Analyst: jenny(dot)yi(at)childrensalliance(dot)org
The Arc of King County * Child Care Action Council * Child Care Aware of Washington * Child Care Action Council * Child Care Resources * Child Haven * Children’s Alliance * Children's Campaign Fund * Children’s Home Society of Washington and Trust Foundation * Children's Therapy Center * Columbia City Consulting * Committee for Children * Community Day Center for Children, Inc * Early Care and Education Consortium * Economic Opportunity Institute * Educare Seattle * Elty Consulting * First 5 FUNdamentals * Foundation for Tacoma Students * Help Me Grow Pierce County * League of Education Voters * Mission: Readiness * MomsRising * Neighborhood House * Nurse Family Partnership * OneAmerica * Partners for Our Children * Project Child Success * Puget Sound Educational Service District * Ready Nation * Save the Children * Save the Children Action Network * School’s Out Washington * Sound Child Care Solutions * Southeast Seattle Education Coalition * Start Early * Teach for America - Washington * Tiny Trees Preschool * United Way of King County * United Ways of the Pacific Northwest * Washington Association for the Education of Young Children * Washington Association for Infant Mental Health * The Washington Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics * Washington Childcare Centers Association * Washington Federation of Independent Schools * Washington Home Visiting Coalition * Washington Physicians for Social Responsibility * Washington State Alliance of YMCAs * Washington State Association of Head Start & ECEAP * Washington State Budget & Policy Center * Washington State Community Action Partnership * Washington STEM * Washington Communities for Children * Washington State Parent Ambassadors * Wellspring Family Services * WithinReach * Zeno