June 25, 2026
As Congress begins work on Fiscal Year 2027 funding, the future of the early learning and care (ELC) system is precarious. Across the country, programs continue to face rising operating costs, workforce shortages, and growing demand from families. Yet federal investments have not kept up with the need.
The recently approved House Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (LHHS) appropriations bill includes a $10 million increase for both Head Start and the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG). The bill, however, completely eliminates the Preschool Development Grant Birth through Five (PDG B-5), a federal effort aimed at helping states strengthen their ELC system.
While any increase is welcome, these investments simply aren’t enough when compared to inflation and the increasing costs of delivering high-quality early learning services. Currently, CCDBG only reaches about 14% of eligible working families, leaving the large majority of eligible parents struggling to afford child care. This point alone highlights the dire need for higher level funding to ensure eligible families are being served.
Stronger investments are particularly evident in Head Start. Head Start and Early Head Start serve 800,000 children and families across the United States, providing critical early learning, health, and family support services. However, programs continue to struggle with high operation costs and teacher shortages and an overall lack of resources. The LHHS appropriations bill provides a $10 million increase for Head Start. This amount is the minimum given that the entire program is funded at $12.357 billion. Currently, Head Start programs only reach an estimated one in three income-elegible children. Small funding increases are unlikely to address the persistent challenges both programs and families continue to experience.
A recent development on Head Start is the proposed rescission of federal pay parity requirements. While some providers argue that removing the requirement would ease financial pressures on programs operating with limited resources, others warn that it could undermine efforts to address low wages and persistent workforce shortages. The challenge is not the goal of pay parity itself, but the lack of dedicated funding to support it. Rather than eliminating these protections, federal policymakers should pair pay parity requirements with dedicated investments that enable programs to sustainably raise educator compensation and strengthen the early childhood workforce.
The House proposal also maintains funding for the Child Care Access Means Parents in School (CCAMPIS) program. This is a positive step given previous efforts to eliminate the program. CCAMPIS helps student parents access child care while pursuing higher education, supporting both family economic mobility and the future early educator workforce.
Importantly, the House bill is only the first step in the appropriations process. The Senate will develop its own LHHS proposal, and final funding levels will be determined through negotiations between both chambers.
As policymakers consider the path forward, they should recognize that investments in young children yield benefits that extend far beyond the early years. Strong early learning programs support children’s development, strengthen families, and contribute to a more resilient workforce and economy. To meet these goals, Congress must provide adequate funding increases and make meaningful investments in programs like PDG B-5, Head Start, CCDBG, and CCAMPIS.