Nearly one-third of Americans are younger than age 25. Youth are eager and ready to influence policy as evidenced by the variety of youth-led organizations and initiatives that exist locally, nationally, and even internationally. These youth-led organizations and initiatives can benefit from learning how to analyze existing funding streams that support youth programming through a process known as fiscal mapping.
Read MoreThis November, voters around the country choose to dedicate millions of dollars to children’s services. Learn about the three communities and one state that created new children’s funds (or renewed an existing fund) below.
Read MoreWhen we at Children’s Funding Project talk about election results, we typically focus on ballot measures—this November, there were five of these measures on local ballots (in Whatcom County, WA; Jackson County, MO; Sacramento, CA; Monterey, CA; and South San Francisco, CA), and one on a statewide ballot in New Mexico.
Read MoreCincinnati, OH, City Council Member Greg Landsman is a former public schoolteacher and a staunch advocate for families in southwest Ohio. Prior to joining the city council, Landsman served as the executive director of Cincinnati’s Strive Partnership where he spearheaded an effort to create a voter-approved children’s fund that provides $15 million per year to support preschool services for the city’s 3- and 4-year-olds. This “first-in-the-nation” investment passed in 2016 with the largest margin of victory in the history of school levies in Cincinnati and voters reauthorized the fund in 2020.
Read MoreStrong Start in San Miguel County, CO, manages one of the nearly 50 voter-approved children’s funds nationwide dedicating local revenue to services specifically for children. Strong Start—and its coalition of community members, local business owners, nonprofits, and child care professionals—are at the center of improvements in early childhood care and education in the county.
Read MoreChildren’s Funding Project CEO Elizabeth Gaines recently spoke with Mayor Kenney about the campaign to secure the beverage tax in Philadelphia, the successes of the programs it supports, and Mayor Kenney’s advice for other local leaders looking for innovative ways to fund programs for children and youth. You can watch the full video interview and read an edited version of their conversation below.
Read MoreAs election day quickly approaches, a number of states and localities will decide whether to dedicate millions of dollars of public revenue to children. Learn about all the efforts to fund children’s services on this fall’s ballot below, and check back after November 8 for a round-up of the election results.
Read MoreIn 2021, the American Rescue Plan’s Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund provided $122 billion to state educational agencies and K-12 public school districts for much needed financial relief to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. When these dollars first began flowing into school districts in spring 2021, many districts developed budgets with innovative programs and generous spending to ensure they spent the funds by the January 28, 2025, deadline.
Read MoreAs the chances dwindle for significant federal action on early care and education, families and providers are turning back to leaders in city and state governments to address the crisis that the lack of care has created. Inevitably, this leads back to an old question: Can local government scale quickly to deliver high-quality, accessible care?
Read MoreA lot of communities say they support families and young children. But Dayton and Montgomery County, OH, can point to much that they’re doing and, importantly, institutionalizing to ensure our youngest children get off to a great start. Read the history of Preschool Promise here and see the 2015 report that catapulted us from pilot projects to a community mainstay. And below are three things we’ve learned along the way.
Read MoreA cost model measures the true cost of equitably implementing, maintaining, or expanding a program or service for children. Demand for cost modeling in early childhood care and education continues to grow as states and communities further invest in expanding equitable opportunities for children and youth. While the number of technicians that can develop early childhood cost model tools is limited, the importance of increasing access to and understanding of these tools galvanized cost model partners to align in establishing common standards for a broader audience.
Read MoreSpecifically, Native nations, states, and local governments should be able to use fiscal data to accurately assess the out-of-school and community-based programs and services available to American Indian and Alaska Native children and youth. By tracking the resources available to Native children and youth living outside of Native nation-controlled areas, states and local governments can better understand the full range of opportunities for children who are citizens of a Native nation and residents of their state.
Read MoreNow, as a newly elected city council member, the fundamental question I ask myself is “how do we pay for, sustain, and create additional resources for children and youth to ensure their safety, healthy development, and success?”
The answer is simple: Communities must engage in the process of strategic public financing.
Read MoreRochelle Wilcox, Hamilton Simons-Jones, and Jillian Delos Reyes were instrumental in the success of the Yes for NOLA Kids campaign. Together, they achieved a major victory for early childhood in New Orleans on April 30 when 61% of voters approved a ballot measure that will dedicate approximately $21 million in property tax revenue annually to new, high-quality, full-time early care and education.
Read MoreA CBA that guarantees community investments of even a fraction of projected stadium profits could directly benefit Buffalo’s underserved neighborhoods in perpetuity. Such investments might not only restore a single grocery store in a food desert, but accrue long-term and broad-based benefits for generations to come.
Read MorePublic opinion polling during the COVID-19 pandemic shows that voters feel intense concern about youth mental health and are willing to prioritize public investment in programs that support young people. This presents a critical moment for advocates to connect the dots between after-school and summer programs and youth mental health to drive greater public investment in these programs.
Read MoreToday, the faster than expected economic recovery, created in part by robust federal relief, has left many states with temporary budget surpluses. This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to make down payments on programs that communities desperately need, like expanding the supply of child care centers, paying early child care professionals a living wage, and providing mental health services to combat the pandemic’s traumatic effects on children and youth.
Read MoreWe are thrilled to name Annemarie Valdez our 2022 Children’s Funding Champion. Valdez joins Margaret Brodkin (2019) and Kimberly Krupa and Ron Ellington (2020) as recipients of the award. We spoke with Valdez about her accomplishments and career dedicated to children and youth. You can watch the full video interview and read an edited version of our conversation here.
Read MoreLast week, more than 100 participants representing 25 communities in 14 states participated in our 2022 Children’s Funding Institute, our third such event. This three-day boot camp offered communities of all shapes and sizes the tools and expertise necessary to secure local dedicated funding for kids via ballot measure. The group included communities that have established voter-approved children’s funds, such as King County’s Best Starts for Kids; communities with a potential voter-approved children’s fund on an upcoming ballot, such as Yes for NOLA Kids; and communities just starting to learn what voter-approved children’s funds are.
Read MoreThis year, the nation’s first digital advertising tax took effect in Maryland. The tax applies to revenue collected from digital advertisements displayed within the state and could raise an estimated $250 million in its first full year for the state’s education system. The new revenue will go toward the Blueprint for Maryland's Future, which will make significant investments in K-12 and early childhood education including providing free preschool to low-income families.
Read More
