Pennsylvania's new Governor, Josh Shapiro, is already working on his Administration's priorities.
Pre-K for PA, Start Strong PA, Childhood Begins At Home, and Thriving PA Campaigns are uniting in a petition effort urging the new Administration to grow access to high quality pre-k and child care, family support services like evidence-based home visiting and Early Intervention as well as perinatal and children's health care. We are also asking them to advance initiatives that will stabilize programs and appropriately compensate the professionals that provide these services.
Please consider adding your name to the petition below. Together we can send a strong message to Governor Shapiro that Pennsylvania is united for early care and education!
Dear Governor-Elect Shapiro,
Few issues have united both Republicans and Democrats in Pennsylvania like early care and education for our most precious resource – our children. In a divided and contentious election year, nine out of ten Pennsylvania voters responded that early childhood care and education are important in helping set children on a path toward leading healthy and productive lives.
There is good reason for this groundswell of support! The prenatal period and a child's experiences during the first five years of life shape brain development and the healthy development of all other systems in the body. What happens during this critical time has significant impact on both short- and long-term outcomes in learning, behavior, and physical and mental health.
When our children grow into healthy, productive adults, our communities, workforce, and economy also become stronger and more productive. That is why it is so important to start early and advance programs and policies that promote healthy development. When investments are made early, the returns for communities are the highest, and we can reduce the need for more expensive interventions later.
While parents, of course, play the lead role in their child's healthy development, all parents are challenged to balance the myriad of needs in their children's earliest years with the demands of the workforce. Whether providing direct support or working through a community-based network of organizations and programs, there is no doubt that the government has a role to play in helping families access programs shown to help children thrive and working families survive.
As you develop your Administration's priorities for your first budget address, we urge you to prioritize investments expanding access to high-quality pre-k and child care, family support services like evidence-based home visiting and Early Intervention as well as perinatal and children's health care. Additionally, we ask you to advance initiatives that will stabilize programs and appropriately compensate the professionals that provide these services. The early care and education sector is struggling to survive with high inflation, labor shortages due to low compensation and outdated state policies that have not kept pace with current challenges.
To do so will ensure that Pennsylvania's families, particularly those in the most challenging circumstances, have the essential services and supports needed to help them manage work and their children's healthy development from the very beginning.