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First 5 California Statement on Governor Brown's Proposed Budget
[January 10, 2018]

First 5 California Statement on Governor Brown's Proposed Budget


Today Governor Jerry Brown released his proposed FY 2018-19 budget. The historic $131.7 billion General Fund budget carries some good news and recognizes the importance of providing services and opportunities for children, families, and early learning issues-a recognition that has been hard fought in recent years.

The January Budget proposes modest core investments in early childhood education and services, including:

  • Keeps the multi-year deal on pre-child funding rates for child care and expanded preschool access
  • Proposes new funding support for home visiting for CalWORKS families
  • Creates one-time grants to expand early education classrooms
  • Recognizes the importance of high-quality child care teachers and adult-child interactions through an online Community College instruction proposal
  • Implements last year's budget deal on increased Denti-Cal rates

"Governor Brown's budget proposal opensthe door to a robust and comprehensive debate on how to put children first in this year's budget conversation," says Camille Maben, Executive Director of First 5 California. "Given the enormous new revenues and surplus in this year's budget, we will work with the Governor and Legislature to hone these proposals and address the unacceptable gaps in access to child care that still exist."



California is still far behind on access for children to high-quality child care. According to the California Budget and Policy Center, 1.2 million eligible children still lack access to any state child care assistance.

Maben added, "High-quality child care is the best investment the state budget can make in both the child and the working parent, and access to this care needs to be the first call on revenue increases."


First 5 California was established in 1998 when voters passed Proposition 10, which taxes tobacco products to fund services for children ages 0 to 5 and their families. First 5 California programs and resources are designed to educate and support teachers, parents, and caregivers in the critical role they play during a child's first five years - to help California kids receive the best possible start in life and thrive. For more information, please visit www.ccfc.ca.gov.


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