More than 800 individuals and organizations agreed to sign onto the letter to the Pennsylvania General Assembly in support of the Governor's FY 2008-2009 budget proposal to increase funding for Pennsylvania Pre-K Counts by $12.6 million to serve an additional 1,000 children and expand some part-time programs to full-time. Additionally, the letter asked the legislature to support another critical investment of $48.8 million to improve child care programs through Keystone STARS and increase access to child care subsidies through Child Care Works.

The letter noted that even with this investment, more than 8,000 children remain on the child care subsidy waiting list and urged them to increase this investment by an additional $9 million to reduce the child care waiting list by a total of 4,000 children. That letter hit the desk of legislators the first week of June as legislators returned to Harrisburg to begin budget negotiations in earnest.

Let's keep the momentum going!

May 5, 2008 - Download Letter to the PA General Assembly
MS Word | PDF

May 5, 2008

The Honorable Robert Regola
Senate of Pennsylvania
188 Main Capitol Building
Senate Box 203039
Harrisburg, PA 17120

Dear Senator Regola:

The undersigned organizations and individuals, representing a wide array of early childhood education providers and supporters, respectfully urge you to make investing in high-quality early education and care for Pennsylvania's children an integral part of the Commonwealth's 2008-2009 General Fund Budget.

Pennsylvania has made great strides in recent years in funding high-quality early education and care for our children. State funded programs such as Child Care Works, Head Start, Keystone STARS and Pre-K Counts promote high- quality learning environments. These programs are true investments in Pennsylvania's future. They create and promote successful students, successful communities and are good for the Commonwealth as a whole. However, we need to do more.

Child Care Works keeps Pennsylvania's working families working and helps them afford quality child care for their children. The annual cost of child care for infants and toddlers is double the cost of one year's tuition at one of Pennsylvania's public colleges or universities. It is important that low-income working parents have the assistance they need to remain employed and to ensure their child is being cared for in a quality setting while they are at work.

Pennsylvania's nationally recognized Keystone STARS program is making a difference. Keystone STARS is improving child care quality and helping parents make good child care choices. Evaluation reports show that Keystone STARS is reversing a negative trend in child care quality. Participating programs show higher quality than at the inception of STARS, and programs in Keystone STARS have higher quality than the Pennsylvania average.

We support the Governor's proposed investment of $48.8 million in the improvement of child care programs through Keystone STARS and increased access to child care subsidies through Child Care Works. However, even with this investment, more than 8,000 children remain on the child care subsidy waiting list. We urge the General Assembly to support an additional $9 million investment in next year's budget that will reduce this waiting list by a total of 4,000 children.

Pennsylvania Pre-K Counts is providing high-quality pre-K to approximately 11,000 children across the Commonwealth who are at risk of education failure - giving them the tools they need to succeed in school and life. Research overwhelmingly backs public investments in high-quality pre-K - investments that can yield short-term education savings ranging from $0.78 to $1.16 for every $1 invested, and long-term public savings as high as $17 for every $1 invested. By December 2007, Pre-K Counts sites had waiting lists of more than 2,200 children. Still, just 20 percent of Pennsylvania's 442,000 three- and four-year olds have access to publicly funded, high-quality pre-K programs. We support the Governor's 2008-2009 budget proposal to increase funding for Pennsylvania Pre-K Counts by $12.6 million in order to serve an additional 1,000 children.

As you begin the challenging task of negotiating the fiscal year 2008-2009 budget, we respectfully ask that you remember the powerful impact investments in early childhood education and care programs have on Pennsylvania's children, their families and the future of the Commonwealth.

Pennsylvania has proven itself a national leader in its investments and system building in early childhood education and care over the last five years. With your assistance, commitment, and leadership Pennsylvania will continue to have the resources to prepare its youngest children for success into the future.

Sincerely,

For list of signing individuals and organizations please see Word or Pdf copies of the letters.