Legislature urged to sustain early childhood services once stimulus money is expended
BATON ROUGE, La. -- The Louisiana Early Childhood Care and Education Commission has released Funding Our Future: The Economic Imperative of Early Childhood Care and Education in Louisiana. For the third year in a row, the report calls for a state investment of $85.8 million and an increase of nearly that amount annually over the next decade to expand access to affordable, high-quality early care and education for thousands of working families in need, particularly those with children below age three.
The report, which comes two years after the original report was unanimously adopted and endorsed, was developed based on research and recommendations put forth by a Commission Taskforce, which focused on the economic benefits of investing in early childhood and the costs of inaction. The report finds that if the state were to invest the recommended initial $85.8 million in early care and education now, it would see an economic benefit of $1.8 billion over the next 10 years, which is nearly 21 times greater than the initial investment. By contrast, if no investment is made, the state could see a compounded economic loss of $12.1 billion over the next 10 years.
“The economic benefits of investing in early care and education are clear. Every dollar invested in high-quality early childhood programs delivers a 13% annual return on investment,” said Stephanie Hilferty (R-Metairie), co-chair of the commission who sponsored legislation to form the group. “An investment in early care and education is an investment in Louisiana’s children, working families, and our state’s economy as a whole.”
In the report, the Commission reiterated its initial recommendations made in the "LA B to 3" report and pressed for incentivizing and supporting local investments:
- Invest $85.8 million of state funds to launch LA B to 3, and increase this investment by nearly that amount every year for 10 years;
- As part of the total investment, ensure that at least $4 million is appropriated to the Early Childhood Education Fund prior to the 2021-2022 school year to match current local investment, and identify a robust source of ongoing funding for the Fund as future local investment grows; and
- Facilitate local investment in early childhood by removing barriers to local revenue generation.
“The Department of Education has the opportunity to use recent stimulus funding to respond to these Commission recommendations to maintain stability of the childcare industry and expand access,” said Dr. Cade Brumley, State Superintendent. “Only 40 percent of our children enter kindergarten ready. While we embrace the short term solution provided through stimulus funds, Louisiana should consider investment for long-term funding solutions.”
From the recent American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA), Louisiana anticipates receiving nearly $300 million in the Child Care & Development Block Grant (CCDBG) and more than $475 million for child care stabilization, totaling more than $770 million to support child care and families. Combined with previous stimulus awards, Louisiana will receive more than $1 billion to support child care and families. The Department will have until September 30, 2024 to liquidate the last of this funding. The Department will provide stimulus funding updates and opportunities for the public to provide feedback via the Early Childhood Connection Newsletter.
“The flood of new federal funding from recent stimulus packages will provide Louisiana with an opportunity to address some of the immediate challenges raised by the Commission,” said Sen. Beth Mizell (R-Franklinton), co-chair of the commission. “However, we know that the state must put together a plan now for how it will fund early care and education at the appropriate levels once the stimulus funding runs out.”
The Louisiana Department of Education is planning to utilize some of this funding to create new birth through three year old seats in high-quality child care centers for the 2021-2022 school year. However, the Commission report points out that it will be crucial for the state to have a plan to sustain activities funded by this federal funding, the last of which will expire in 2024.
“The federal funds Louisiana is scheduled to receive from the most recent COVID-19 stimulus package present a unique opportunity to start down the right path. These funds can help our state build a better system and help more families than ever access that system. However, no matter how significant they are, these funds are one-time dollars,” said Dr. Libbie Sonnier, Executive Director of the Louisiana Policy Institute for Children and Commission member. “Because federal funds will expire in the fall of 2024, we need to have a plan for state and local investments that will be able to continue to take the state down the right path. With that plan, we can utilize federal funds now most effectively and know how to move forward once they are gone."
Read the full "LA B to 3" report
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