Despite Mayor Bowser announcing in April that she would maintain funding for early education programs in her upcoming budget proposal, now that the budget is out, it is clear that the level of funding proposed for Child Care Subsidies is not enough to serve the current number of enrolled families, and the Early Childhood Educator Pay Equity Fund will be completely eliminated starting as early as next year.

We know that when families have access to affordable and quality early care and education, everyone wins. Children are more successful in school, early educators can afford to stay in a profession they love, parents can work, and local businesses have a more stable workforce and customers! The Pay Equity Fund alone offers DC a 23% return on its investment!

We also want to uplift the ask of many child care programs and families in the District to fully fund community based Pre-K programs (PKEEP). DC’s early learning system relies on all of these funding streams to ensure stability and quality of children and families.

Tell the DC Council to fully fund child care before the final budget vote in July!

También queremos elevar el pedido de muchos programas de cuidado infantil y familias en el Distrito de financiar completamente los programas comunitarios de prekínder (PKEEP). El sistema de aprendizaje temprano de DC depende de todas estas fuentes de financiamiento para garantizar la estabilidad y la calidad de los niños y las familias.