• President Biden’s Fiscal Year 2024 Budget: The proposed budget delivers for families across this country with increased investments to expand access to child care and reduce its costs, including $22.1 billion for existing early care and education programs and boosting the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) to $9 billion and Head Start programs to $13.2 billion.
  
• Child Care for Working Families: This proposed legislation supports three programs:
  • Birth Through Five Child Care and Early Learning Program
  • Building an Affordable System for Early Education (BASE) Grants
  • Universal Preschool Program
    
• Child Care Workforce and Facilities Act: This proposed legislation would provide competitive grants for states to train child care workers and build or renovate child care facilities.

Federal Child Care Bills Child Care Aware of America is tracking

Alaska 33rd Legislative Session

• State Budget: On June 19, Governor Dunleavy signed the final FY24 budget. thread is grateful for the additional financial support for child care that was maintained in the final budget:
  • $7.5 million one-time funding for child care provider wages
  • $1.5 million one-time funding for Head Start programs
• State Budget: On May 18, the legislature passed the fiscal year 2024 budget with one time funding for child care. thread advocated for the Governor to support the investments in child care, including:
  • $7.5 million one-time funding for child care provider wages
  • $250,000 in one-time funding for a new home and place-based child care initiative
  • $5 million in one-time funding for Head Start programs
• House Bill 89 (HB89) – Day Care Assistance/Child Care Grant Program sponsored by Rep. Coulombe – this bill would allow for provision of child care assistance to families at 300 percent of the federal poverty line and would adjust subsidies to reflect the actual average cost of providing child care at Alaska child care facilities.
• House Bill 100 (HB100) – Paid Family Leave sponsored by Rep. Armstrong –  this bill would increase family paid leave for teachers and public employees
• House Bill 206 (HB206) – Day Care Matching Benefit Program sponsored by Rep. Ortiz – this bill, introduced at the end of the session, would establish a day care matching benefit program to encourage businesses to include child care as an employee benefit.

• Anchorage – thread endorsed Proposition 14, the Care for Kids Initiative
  • April 2023, MOA voted yes on Prop 14.  This initiative:
  • Dedicates current revenue collected from local Anchorage marijuana taxes to provide affordable, high-quality child care and early education for Anchorage children. That amounts to between $5-6 million per year. Private child care and education providers are eligible.
  • Lowers the tax cap to provide protections for property tax payers.
  • Establishes an independent advisory board to evaluate the use of the funds.

• Anchorage – Paid parental leave for municipal employees
  • thread congratulates the Municipality of Anchorage Assembly for supporting families by increasing paid parental leave for municipal employees. Research shows that paid parental leave has significant benefits for the entire family by reducing financial stress and allowing parents time to bond with their child.
    
    
• City and Borough of Juneau – Cost Waivers for Child Care Providers
  • The scope of the funding is divided into 3 categories:
    • Direct subsidies to licensed providers on a per-child basis, with higher subsidies for infant/toddler care;
    • Education incentives to individuals who increase their child care education, based on a tier system;
    • CBJ cost waivers for required annual Fire Marshal inspections and Conditional Use Permit fees.