Clark leads push for early education investments

Washington, D.C. -- Congresswoman Katherine Clark led a group of 122 Members of Congress advocating for strong investments in early education, early intervention, and high quality child care. In a letter to the House Appropriations Committee, Clark and her colleagues urged the Committee to include updated and appropriate funding for the Child Care Development Block Grant (CCDBG), Grants for Infants and Families, and Preschool Grants for the 2016 fiscal year. Clark emphasized that funding cuts over the last decade have led to hundreds of thousands of low income children losing access to quality child care.

Clark’s request also underscores the importance of fully funding programs for the 750,000 American children aged 3-5 with disabilities who deserve adequate resources for quality learning.

“High quality early childhood education and care is the best investment we can make in our children and in our economy,” said Clark. “Every dollar invested in early education helps ensure equal opportunity to a quality education for every child, gives working parents the ability to go back to work or school, and comes back to our economy seven fold in the form of savings and a highly skilled workforce.”

High quality child care is consistently reported as one of the highest expenses faced by American families, and the CCDBG helps low-income families afford that care. Grants for Infants and Families provide services to disabled children during their first years of life—precisely when and where this intervention has been shown to help the most. Preschool Grants serve those same children once they enter school.

Full text of Clark’s letter can be found here.

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