Early Care and Education State Budget Actions FY 2010

Introduction

The Early Care and Education State Budget Actions report is an annual survey of state fiscal decisions in early care and education policy and programs, including child care, prekindergarten, home visiting and other related early childhood programs. The report tracks and analyzes trends in state decisions, particularly aiming to capture state funding choices in these areas. State early care and education appropriations have experienced year-to-year increases for the last several years. In FY 2009, states increased appropriations across each area—child care, prekindergarten, home visiting and related early childhood programs—even in the face of emerging budget crises. From FY 2009 to FY 2010, state appropriations to early care and education were generally flat, reflecting no significant percentage change. This is particularly striking, given the unprecedented state budget gaps that lawmakers were addressing.

The analysis in this report includes discussion of state budget challenges in the context of early care and education; the role of the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act enacted in February 2009; trends in decisions within specific categories of funding; and a categorical examination of child care, prekindergarten, home visiting, and other related early childhood program funding decisions.

In addition, 50-state profiles of data from FY 2008, FY 2009 and FY 2010 are available.