Stephanie Schmit

Last week, @CLASP_DC’s @CLASPShira and @SCSchmit joined @CC4EFN’s child care advocates on the Hill to push for stronger federal ECE investment and policy. Doubling the current investment could result in 870,000+ additional children gaining access to #CCDBG.

Child care needs to be more affordable, accessible, and equitable, which is why we are grateful to see the leadership of Senators Warren and Murray and Representatives Scott and Ocasio Cortez to make this a reality. notus.org/congress/progressi…

Congress has approved most of the fiscal year 2026 spending bills, allotting an additional $85 million to the Child Care and Development Block Grant. @CLASP_DC has analyzed how the minimal but important increase will be distributed across states. clasp.org/publications/fact-…

2/ Head Start’s positive impacts are as vast as the program's geographical reach, with a Head Start program in every Congressional district in the country. Children and families deserve access to this critical program, this #HeadStartAwareness month and always.

1/ Head Start delivers critical services for families with low incomes across the country, but the government shutdown threatens to close programs that serve 65,152 children nationwide if it extends past November 1st. #HeadStartAwarenessMonth clasp.org/press-room/press-r…

#Childcare is a critical support for family well-being & economic stability. CCDF is the primary federal funding source to support access for families with low incomes & support the quality of care for all children. Learn more about it in our new 101! clasp.org/publications/fact-…

"Families can’t afford to lose access to care for their children. Providers can’t afford to lose their valuable jobs. And the economy can’t afford to have less stability and care for children. Let’s protect Head Start." Read more in our new op-ed: otherwords.org/the-real-worl…

Parent advocacy groups and a coalition of Head Start providers are fighting back against the Trump Administration’s attacks on Head Start and services that support DEIA. Read about their efforts with the @ACLU to protect Head Start from being eliminated. aclu.org/press-releases/pare…

And stay tuned for our upcoming analysis of the 2022 CCDF participation data!

In 2021, 1,326,700 children participated in the CCDF program – an 11% decrease from 2020. To learn more about how many children and families had access to care in 2021, check out our latest analysis of state-by-state CCDF participation. clasp.org/publications/repor…

This @CAPEarlyEd data shows that Head Start reaches local communities in every state. These important programs are at risk - recent news suggests Head Start will be proposed for elimination in the President’s budget. Take action to protect Head Start now: nhsa.org/take-action/

3/ We can’t let this happen. Please take action and tell Congress that we can’t cut Head Start. It is too valuable for children, families, and the economy. nhsa.org/take-action/

2/ Cutting Head Start would disrupt care for hundreds of thousands of children, eviscerate the child care and early education workforce, and leave parents scrambling to find care so they can work and go to school. There is no doubt that this would cause panic and chaos.

1/ Recent news suggests that the Trump Administration will call for elimination of Head Start in their upcoming budget proposal. This will have devastating impacts for children, families, and the workforce. 🧵 usatoday.com/story/news/educ…

President Trump's Executive Order dismantling the Department of Education will have direct and immediate impacts on young children, access to child care and early education, and broader support systems, especially for children with disabilities. clasp.org/press-room/press-r…