Though it’s less than a year old, the 2021 Fair Start for Kids Act is already lowering the high cost of quality child care for families across Washington state. Despite this progress, many of our families, businesses, and essential early childhood professionals are still struggling.
This report lays out a series of recommendations for rebuilding an economy that works for all Washingtonians. Download pdf.
Home visiting is a voluntary, proven program where trained home visitors and parents work together to strengthen and support families in the child’s first years of life. This one pager gives an overview of the program in Washington state. Download pdf.
This document provides updated data on the Home Visiting Service Account funded home visiting programs, the shift to virtual visits with enrolled families, and highlights how home visiting will continue to support families through recovery. Download pdf.
Governor Inslee’s budget is good for kids and addresses the tremendous impacts that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on WA’s early learning system and families.
As a coalition of over sixty organizations from across Washington, the Early Learning Action Alliance (ELAA) affirms that Black Lives Matter - Black lives are valuable, they are beloved, and they are sacred. Read the full statement.
Washington’s children and economy are threatened because the COVID-19 pandemic has put our early learning infrastructure at risk. This toolkit includes actions to take, summaries of the impacts of COVID-19 on child care, and stories from parents and caregivers across Washington state. Download pdf.
A full 6 page brief on the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on families and child care providers, and recommendations to aid recovery. Download pdf.
A two-page overview of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on Washington's early learning system and child care providers. Download pdf.
Washington’s economy and workforce cannot recover without child care. We must support our families in need, protect our frontline workers, and invest in the child care system which has long been the most underfunded component of our state’s education system. This document is a collection of stories from Washington MomsRising members sharing their struggles of accessing or providing child care during COVID-19.
A letter to legislators from ELAA highlighting the impacts of COVID-19 on families and child care providers, and explaining what is needed for recovery. Download pdf.
A review of legislative progress for early learning in the 2020 session and the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic upon the state budget.
A letter from the Early Learning Action Alliance to Governor Inslee and Secretary Hunter to request financial aid and support for the early learning and child care sector during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A letter from members of the Washington state legislature to the Washington congressional delegation to request significant investments in child care in the COVID-19 economic relief package.
A letter supported by the ELAA coalition, and circulated by our colleagues in states across the country, urging significant investments in our child care industry in the third COVID-19 economic relief package.
This document explains the positive impact of home visiting and outlines how lawmakers can invest state funding to expand the program. View and download (pdf).
This document explains the "Homeless Grace Period" and the argument for extending it and investing funds to increase early learning opportunities for vulnerable children. View and download (pdf).
This document gives an overview of the Early Learning landscape in Washington state and outlines the ELAA legislative priorities for the 2020 session. View and download (pdf).
The Early Learning Action Alliance looks forward to working with state policymakers to achieve the following policies and funding in the 2020 Legislative Session. These priorities will improve child outcomes and move Washington closer to a state where every young child has equitable access to the opportunity to succeed in school and in life. Read our legislative agenda (PDF).
Comparison of our ELAA legislative priorities as they are proposed by the Governor, House and Senate. Last updated 4.9.19
Inadequate Working Connections Child Care subsidy reimbursement rates are standing in the way of access to affordable, high quality early learning opportunities for Washington’s young children and families. Invest in strong families and communities by increasing child care subsidy rates for infants and toddlers to 75 percent of the market rate. Read more (PDF).
Capital Investment for Early Learning
The Need for Child Care Facilities
• Many families face daunting waiting lists for child care and are unable to work due to the lack of accessible, affordable child care.
• Lack of financing for facilities and capital improvements restricts the ability of child care and pre-school programs to expand.
• As Washington works to ensure all eligible children in ECEAP are served by 2022-23 we have to ensure physical space is available.
Doctors partnering with families to build language, literacy, and social-emotional skills that prepare children for kindergarten.
When doctors give children books and teach their parents to support language, literacy, and math at home, children develop critical skills that set the stage for success in school and life.
Support SEIU 925 FCC collective bargaining agreement:
Provisions include; Increasing EA reimbursement rates for levels 3 and 4; Increasing funding for professional development fund; Expand sub pool days and what they can be used for; Increasing transparency when the state believes an overpayment has occurred; State will cover costs for federally-mandated background checks for FFNs; Several financial issues in arbitration. Lead Organization is SEIU: Contact Erin Haick @ ehaick@seiu925.org
Support Changes to the GRADS program
2019 Home Visiting One Pager
Support Expanding Bilingual Education in Washington State
Early Learning Specifics of this bill include:
• Support bilingualism from an early age and expand the number of dual language early learning programs, grants will be
made available to childcare providers and ECEAP programs. These dual language programs will provide content-based
instruction to students in two languages: English and a target language other than English spoken in the local community,
for example Spanish, Somali, Vietnamese, Russian, Arabic, native languages, or indigenous languages.
Mission: Readiness Fact Sheet on ECEAP
ReadyNation Fact Sheet on ECEAP
Implement an expanded version of the Working Families Tax Credit (WFTC) in Washington State.
The Early Learning Action Alliance looks forward to working with state policymakers to achieve the following policies and funding in the 2019 Legislative Session. These priorities will improve child outcomes and move Washington closer to a state where every young child has equitable access to the opportunity to succeed in school and in life. Read our legislative agenda (PDF).
View (PDF) of ELAA's 2017-19 Operating and Capital Budget Draft Analysis for Early Learning Priorities.
Child care educators earn very low wages, child care center teachers turn over at a 43% rate, and 22% of child care businesses have closed since 2011. Without more public investment, these alarming trends will accelerate.
We call on the legislature to fund the cost of quality child care by investing $85.5 million into Working Connections Child Care center reimbursement rates. Read more here from Child Care Aware's fact sheet (PDF).
Child Care Aware of Washington's 2016 Data Report covers trends, child care supply, cost of care, & demand for referrals. Read the report (PDF).
INVEST IN WORKING CONNECTIONS CHILD CARE
From Child Care Aware
Study after study has shown that when kids start kindergarten behind, they stay behind. That’s why the legislature has committed to serving all eligible children who want ECEAP by 2020. Download the complete fact sheet (PDF).
Fact sheet: Invest $1 Million in Reach Out and Read to provide an evidence-based early learning program to 105,000 children birth through five and their families. Download the fact sheet (PDF).
Draft legislation to address stability in the early learning workforce (PDF).
Increased investments in our state’s early learning system result in an important increase in quality requirements that support better child development and outcomes statewide. (Download the full PDF.)
Our economy requires that 80% of workers obtain post high school education of some kind. This leads to large
gaps in supply of qualified workers. Research shows high quality pre-k improves graduation rates, college
attendance, and the ‘soft skills’ that employers value. Download complete fact sheet (PDF).
High-Quality Preschool in Washington State: A National Security Imperative. High-quality preschool will address the problems that disqualify 69% of Washington’s young adults from military service. Download complete report (PDF). Download the complete fact sheet (PDF).
Why has Washington committed to expanding our nationally respected Pre-K program? Because decades of research, including our own Washington State Institute for Public Policy, has shown that it closes race and income gaps, reduces costs in K-12, and puts children on the path to becoming healthy and self-sufficient adults that can strengthen our economy. Download the complete fact sheet (PDF).
The mission of the Early Childhood Education & Assistance Program is to work with children and families to ensure that they are ready to succeed and thrive in school and life. Since the program is not fully funded, ECEAP prioritizes children at highest risk of school failure, using income and risk factors that have been linked by research to school performance. Download complete fact sheet (PDF).
The Pre-K to Workforce Pipeline: Washington State business leaders know that we need a highly-skilled workforce to compete in the global marketplace.
Home Visiting: Improves Lives, Saves Money.
2017-19 Budget Request
Invest $2.7 million in state funding to sustain 210 slots a year ($1.4 million) and expand to an additional 180 slots in 2018-19 ($1.3 million). Download the complete fact sheet (PDF).
Workforce study: Washington median annual workforce earnings across prekindergarten and elementary school (PDF).
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Every child deserves the opportunity to succeed in school and in life, regardless of their race, ethnicity, geography, ability, or family economics. High-quality early learning is a strategy proven to give kids what they need to thrive. Investing in a great start for children yields returns for all of us: more successful schools, stronger families, and more self-reliant adults prepared to contribute to a robust economy.
Access to paid family and medical leave strengthens our state's investments in high-quality programs (like preschool and childcare), helps close the opportunity gap, and makes it possible for all children and family to thrive. Download the complete fact sheet (PDF).
Here in Washington, there are 536,427 children age birth through five years; 59 percent of these children live in households where all available parents are currently working. Download the Early Childhood Workforce Index (PDF).
One in 17 children under 6 in WA are homeless. One hundred sixty four homeless kids are on the ECEAP waitlist. Download the complete fact sheet (PDF).
ELAA’s support list is distinct from the coalition’s legislative agenda. This is a list of items that we endorse, but do not lead advocacy or policy on. ELAA members will be notified when there are critical opportunities to support advancement of these issues. View our support list (PDF).
Paid family and medical leave would allow workers to take the time they need for a new child or when a serious health condition strikes. Life is unexpected, but the predictability of paid family and medical leave can help. Download the complete fact sheet (PDF).
Access to ECEAP, a program with Quality Early Learning Can Reduce Crime. Download the fact sheet (PDF).
National research shows sizable short and long term outcomes of high quality preschool. ECEAP serves our state’s most at-risk children – families below 110% of the federal poverty line, homeless,children with disabilities, and involvement in the child welfare system. ECEAP staff work with children in the classroom to get them school-ready, and work with parents to ensure the child’s health, strengthen parenting skills, and help families to do what is needed to move out of poverty and support their child’s health and education. The results are impressive, and they last.
