RICHMOND, Va. — Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin introduced Thursday that the proposed funds he’ll quickly unveil for the following two fiscal years will embrace a rise in state spending on early studying and youngster care packages.
The central intention of the proposal is to make sure that the top of federal pandemic-era funds that have been used to increase these initiatives doesn’t go away households within the lurch, Youngkin stated in a speech in Richmond. Without the elevated allocations to enhance the long-term viability of the packages, households would begin to lose protection in March 2024, he stated.
“At the heart of this is ensuring that we continue to serve the population being served today and that dollars follow the children on their parents’ best wishes,” he stated.
The proposal is only one part of a full two-year funds plan the administration is growing, which Youngkin will current to state lawmakers on Dec. 20.
Virginia governors’ launched budgets sometimes undergo substantial revisions – and Youngkin‘s certainly will next year when Democrats are set to control both General Assembly chambers. But they can serve as a jumping-off point for negotiations and offer a roadmap of the chief executive’s priorities.
Governors usually lay out items of their proposals prematurely of their formal presentation, as a strategy to spotlight sure parts or present public help for his or her concepts. Early childhood advocates and a gaggle of younger college students from a toddler care heart have been available for Thursday’s speech.
According to Youngkin’s remarks and a broad define launched by his workplace, his funds will name for over $448 million in spending in every fiscal yr for the initiative he’s calling “Building Blocks for Virginia Families.” The governor stated that determine would characterize a rise of $180 million from present ranges in every year of the funds.
Part of the funding would assist guarantee low-income working households at present receiving public funding help proceed to take action, based on his workplace.
The initiative would additionally direct $25 million to a capital fund geared toward decreasing youngster care deserts and allocate $10 million per yr for “direct-to-child care education incentives” geared toward assuaging trainer shortages.
In his speech, Youngkin acknowledged the broadly documented struggles U.S. dad and mom face in looking for and afford high-quality youngster care. He additionally cited reviews concerning the variety of girls who left the workforce amid the pandemic attributable to youngster care-related considerations, and recalled his personal mom selecting him up from daycare, juggling parenting and work.
“This is about families. This is about moms,” he stated.
The subject may even be a magnet for House Democrats within the 2024 legislative session, stated Morgan Hopkins, the caucus’ communications director.
“House Democrats have continuously emphasized the need to prioritize funding for our students, our teachers and especially early childhood education, and we look forward to doing just that in the Majority next session,” she stated in a written assertion.
