Dear Supporter,
President Obama’s Fiscal Year 2017 budget, released this week, proposes significant investments in children and families in many areas. The following are some highlights that would address children and family needs in two key areas: early childhood education and child nutrition.
Getting Kids Off to the Right Start
The proposed budget promises to expand access to high-quality child care to more than 1 million infants, toddlers and 3-year-olds by 2026 – increasing the number of low-income children who receive a subsidy to 2.6 million children.
It also includes $3.6 billion more to increase subsidy rates for children under age 4. This, in turn, would help improve child care quality by supporting higher wages for child care staff, more professional development to strengthen the workforce and more quality choices for parents in every community.
In addition, $350 million is allocated for Preschool Development Grants, which would provide a fourth year of grants for 18 states, including New Jersey, and $100 million for new Preschool Development Grants under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) of 2015.
The budget also calls for $292 million for Head Start to offer more children a full-day, full-year program.
Learn more early childhood proposed funding.
Combating Childhood Hunger
Programs that help to ensure that all children have the nourishment they need all year long would also receive significantly more funding.
The budget calls for $12 billion over 10 years to expand the Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer for Children Program permanently and nationally. This program provides additional dollars to SNAP (food stamps) recipients during the summer months to make up for lost school meals. In the summer of 2017, 1 million children are expected to benefit.
The plan also includes increased funding for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), other summer meals programs and school meals to increase both access and the quality of the food served to children.
Learn more about anti-hunger funding.
This is all great news for kids. But, for these proposals to become reality, they must survive the budget process in Washington. It will take strong advocacy from all of us to ensure that happens. Please share this message with you networks, interact with us on Facebook and Twitter to post messages of support and be on the lookout for our action alerts that allow you to easily send messages to your Congressional representatives.
Sincerely,
Cecilia Zalkind
Executive Director
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