The Appropriations Committee’s proposed budget revisions for FY 16 and FY 17 mostly restore or scale back cuts the Governor proposed for programs that ensure early care and education programs can effectively address the comprehensive needs of children and families.
The proposal:
- Increases funding for School Readiness in Priority and Competitive School Districts by $4.42 million and $0.58 million, respectively, in order to increase rates for full-day, full-year programs. To fund this increase, the budget transfers $5 million from Care4Kids, which sees a concomitant decrease in funding in FY 16 and FY 17.
- Almost fully restores funding for the Community Plans for Early Childhood grant ($0.71 million) and Improving Early Literacy ($0.14 million).
- Increases funding for Family Resource Centers by $0.11 million and almost fully restores funding for the Parent Trust Fund ($0.48 million).
- Restores most of the funding for Help Me Grow, Family School Connection, and Family Empowerment Programs (components of the Children’s Trust Fund) but maintains the Governor’s rescissions and imposes an additional 10% reduction to these programs.
