SACRAMENTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--“After years of economic growth and recovery, California has not invested enough in our youngest children and their child care to recover from the latest recession’s deep cuts. We urge the Administration and Legislature to make good on last year’s budget promise to our child care system. If this budget year has the potential to be our last year of economic growth, it is imperative that, at a minimum, our state leadership works to ensure families in subsidized child care are able to recover from the last recession before the next begins. We must right-size child care support eligibility to the modern State Median Income level and keep up with the actual cost of care,” said First 5 Executive Director Camille Maben.
Ms. Maben adds, “First 5 California is interested in the Administration’s continued push to create a more streamlined and articulated early learning system, including our Transitional Kindergarten classrooms, but will review each of the Budget’s policy proposals to ensure California’s current program quality standards are not jeopardized.”
About First 5 California
First 5 California, also known as the California Children and Families Commission, was established after voters passed Proposition 10 in November 1998, which added a tax on tobacco products to fund education, health, childcare, and other services for children ages 0 to 5 and their families. Its programs and resources are designed to educate teachers, parents, grandparents, and caregivers about the critical role they play during a child's first five years – with the overarching goal of helping more California kids grow up healthy and ready to succeed in school and in life. For more information, please visit www.ccfc.ca.gov.