Early Childhood Continuum of Care: PreK-Child Care Partnerships
Today Iowa spends over $91 million annually for a Statewide Voluntary Preschool Program (SWVPP) that requires participating school districts to provide a minimum of 10 hours per week of preschool instruction. For students with risk factors, additional funding and support is provided through the Shared Visions grant program. With this existing support, Iowa currently ranks fifth in the nation for access to four-year-old preschool. At 67%, we are almost double the national average of 35%. While preschool is widely available, some working families cannot participate if the program only covers a portion of the day or would require mid-day transportation to child care.
Parents need a solution that meets the demands of their busy lives – one that allows their children to benefit from our successful preschool program and have access to child care. In order to preserve our state’s child care infrastructure and leverage existing capacity, Governor Reynolds proposes to:
- Launch a new Early Childhood Continuum of Care grant program to provide three year grants for preschool providers (typically school districts) and child care providers to come together to create an all day continuum of care for preschool-aged children
- Fund the $16 million grant with existing state Early Childhood Iowa (ECI) and federal CCDF Wrap Around Child Care funds implemented through streamlined ECI areas aligned to the new seven behavioral health regions
- Shift approximately $3.6 million in existing Shared Visions funding to focus specifically on preschool grants
- Require Shared Visions programs to participate in SWVPP
- Adjust the Shared Visions grant cycles to three years to match the new incentive grant program
Improving Preschool Quality & Data
The Governor proposes requiring the DE to update their preschool standards, enhance reporting requirements for new and existing preschool programs, and establish student outcome metrics in coordination with Iowa HHS.
Strengthening the Child Care Workforce
In an effort to continue to stabilize the child care workforce and recognize the important role played by early education professionals, the Governor will create a statewide solutions fund that allows individuals or Iowa businesses to make donations to help enhance child care workforce wages. This will build on the successful Iowa HHS pilot that established nine regional solutions funds, with 18 other regional funds in various stages of development, by adding an overarching statewide solutions fund. The statewide fund will be made up of:
- Restricted donations that the state will distribute to regional solutions funds as directed
- Unrestricted donations that the state will use to provide 2:1 match funding for regional solutions funds
In order to reduce some of the financial burden our child care centers are carrying, the Governor’s bill proposes they be taxed at a residential rate instead of the commercial rate they are currently paying.
The bill would also codify the Child Care Assistance Pilot Program that provides free child care to child care workers.
Improving Preschool Affordability for Working Families
Governor Reynolds proposes expanding Student Tuition Organizations (STOs) to include preschools so Iowa families have a choice in their child’s education from the very beginning.