HARRISBURG, Pa. – More than 90% of Pennsylvania kindergarten teachers agree that high quality pre-k prepares children for school success, according to a new report.

The Pre-K for PA campaign and the Pennsylvania State Education Association surveyed kindergarten teachers about the value that access to publicly funded, high quality pre-k has in promoting school readiness.

Kari King is president and CEO of Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children, one of the founding organizations of Pre-K for PA. She says 96% of teachers surveyed agree that high quality pre-k is an important tool for helping children develop the physical, emotional and social skills that are needed to succeed in the classroom.

"And 98% said that they see investing in high quality pre-k makes sense for the return on investment that you're seeing throughout the child's life," King states.

Since 2014 the state has invested $115 million to give 12,000 additional at-risk children access to pre-k, but more than half of eligible children are still left out.

With the state budget for the coming fiscal year due at the end of June, King is hoping legislators will agree to invest an additional $40 million in the state's Pre-k Counts program, and $10 million in the Head Start Supplemental Assistance Program.

"With that we'll be able to provide access to about 5,500 additional three and four-year-olds who are eligible and continue to chip away at about 56 percent of eligible preschoolers who currently don't have access," King states.

King points out that Pennsylvania still ranks 18th out of the 30 states that do invest in high quality pre-k.

King says it's an investment that pays. Research shows that a child who attended a high quality pre-k program sees benefits that can last a lifetime.

"That child is less likely to need remediation, and even into adulthood where you see that they're more likely to have successful outcomes in terms of not entering the criminal justice system and gaining employment," she states

King notes that every dollar invested in high-quality pre-k returns $4 in savings and benefits to the Commonwealth from reduced crime, higher earnings and more.

HARRISBURG, Pa. -- Gov. Tom Wolf signed the new state budget last week, which includes a historic $416 million increase in public-education funding.

While the investment was praised by some, child-care providers say the budget missed the mark in their field. They also want to ensure the $1.2 billion dollars the state received from the American Rescue Plan for child-care centers gets to them as soon as possible.

Jen DeBell, executive director of the Pennsylvania Association for the Education of Young Children, said child-care line items got no state-budget increases despite being devastated by the pandemic, so the federal funds are critical.

"We've seen almost 700 programs close, and more than 360 are still temporarily closed," DeBell observed. "So, we don't want to see those numbers driven up because the money isn't going out quick enough."

Some areas she'd like to see receive increased funding include hiring or retention bonuses to help centers build back staff lost in the pandemic. DeBell noted the average child-care teacher in Pennsylvania makes $10.69 an hour.

Nancy Frederick, director of The Learning Center at Third Street Alliance, a child-care center in Northampton County, said they've been struggling to hire teachers, making it difficult to increase classroom size to meet the growing need.

She argued government support is necessary for them to increase pay and offer teachers a living wage, and stressed the importance of high-quality early learning.

"I think the state and federal support financially there would be greatly put into use," Frederick asserted. "Because they are really getting students early on, where they can make a difference and build those connections before they even go to the public school, or whatever school they go to once they are the age of five or six."

Frederick added she also hopes to see funds for expanding what's known as the Infant/Toddler Contracted Slots Program, which provides free child care for children of eligible families, up to age three.

OLYMPIA, Wash. -- This session, Washington state lawmakers approved a major investment in child care and its workers.

The state budget provides $360 million for child-care grants, including $36 million in increased compensation for about 10,000 child-care workers across the state.

Luc Jasmin, co-owner of Parkview Early Learning Center in Spokane president of the Washington Childcare Centers Association, said most of the compensation funds will be distributed this year.

"This is the biggest investment from our state in early learning, ever," Jasmin asserted. "And it took some time. It took a lot of people, it took legislators who understood the importance of early learning, but we've got to keep it going."

Jasmin noted the funding includes subsidies to help more families afford care. The budget also includes $30 million for health coverage for about 15,000 workers, premium-free, through the Washington Health Benefit Exchange. Coverage is expected to be available by September.

John Burbank, executive director of the Economic Opportunity Institute, said wages for child-care workers stagnated after the Great Recession when legislators made big cuts to the budget. But he pointed out they've taken a different approach during the pandemic.

"Legislators realized that fundamental to high-quality child care was respect for and compensation of child-care workers, which has not been at the center of their agenda for a long, long time," Burbank remarked.

Burbank added the increased investment in child care is also an investment in a more equitable Washington, since it helps a workforce made up disproportionately of women and people of color.

BOISE, Idaho -- Idaho child-care providers closed their doors and came to the doors of the Capitol this week to call on lawmakers to approve federal funding for their facilities.

Although Idaho's legislative session is still going on, lawmakers have not approved nearly $100 million from the American Rescue Plan Act for child care, recommended by Gov. Brad Little.

Since September, 200 centers have closed their doors. Even for centers that haven't closed, drops in enrollment have hit them hard.

Mackenzie Allen, director of Circle of Care Developmental Preschool near Coeur d'Alene, said the pandemic has been difficult.

"In one year, we lost eight employees," Allen recounted. "This pandemic has affected so many of us, and it has been a daily struggle to maintain our workforce due to things like illness, stress and not being able to meet the enhanced unemployment benefits that are being offered."

In April, lawmakers decided not to approve $200 million for the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare because of concerns with $34 million approved in the December COVID-19 relief bill for child care, according to the Idaho Capital Sun. Some legislators questioned whether that much money was needed for care centers.

Jane Gordon, a mother of two young children in a Boise child-care center, said she and her husband both work, and their lives would change radically if the center closed.

"I can't do my best work when I'm scrambling to figure a child-care schedule," Gordon asserted. "More importantly, I can't be the best mom when I'm trying to squeeze in work from my phone in the living room, or I'm trying to field calls while making mac and cheese."

Betty McQuain, a faculty member at BYU-Idaho's Department of Home and Family and a former child-care provider, said Idaho's economy depends on child care, but believes without approval from lawmakers of these funds, it could become inaccessible for many Idahoans.

"We are not far from falling into a situation in which only the wealthy will be able to afford child care and the most needy and vulnerable of Idaho's citizens will bear the greatest costs," McQuain contended.

Child-care providers and parents hope the Legislature approves funds before the session adjourns. After this session ends, Idaho lawmakers will likely not come back to the Capitol until at least September.