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Federal Child Care Funding Pennsylvania’s ability to provide child care assistance to families depends on the federal government’s allocation to child care through the Child Care & Development Block Grant (CCDBG). Pennsylvania has programs to improve quality and compensation but only 20% of programs are considered good and we need help to assure that all children get quality care education. Funding for CCDBG and TANF (welfare programs) is reauthorized every five years. Unable to reach agreement on program elements and funding levels, Congress has recently extended the CCDBG (and TANF) for another 6 months at current funding levels, about 1.9 billion annually. Current funding provides assistance to only 1 out of 7 eligible children nationwide and one quarter of eligible children in Pennsylvania. The House TANF bill and Senate Finance Committee bills would increase child care funding by $1 billion over 5 years. Senator Olympia Snowe of Maine, with several co-sponsors, is expected to introduce an amendment to increase child care funding by another $5-$6 billion and is likely to be voted on the by the end of the year. This is a crucial time to press legislators about the importance of increased child care funding. Things to Download (word files):
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