HARRISBURG, PA (July 12, 2026) – Today, the principal partners of Early Learning Pennsylvania (ELPA), a statewide coalition of advocates, expressed appreciation for some small steps forward in addressing early education workforce shortages in the 2026–27 state budget. They also emphasized that the commonwealth must do far more to support programs such as infant and toddler Early Intervention to ensure that every Pennsylvania child from birth to age five has access to affordable, high-quality early care and education by 2030.
ELPA operates issue-based advocacy campaigns, including: Pre-K for PA, Start Strong PA, Childhood Begins at Home, and Thriving PA. The partners of ELPA issued the following statements regarding the 2026-27 state budget:
Budget Takes a Step Forward in Addressing the Child Care Staffing Crisis
“Start Strong PA appreciates the incremental progress this budget makes to support the child care workforce by building on the $25 million recurring Child Care Recruitment and Retention Program funding with an additional $5 million investment. These funds will support programs in recruiting high-quality applicants and retaining experienced educators.
“Child care is an economic development strategy, workforce participation strategy, and education success strategy. These investments will encourage teachers to remain in the field, allowing more parents to work, prepare more Pennsylvania children for school and build a stronger and more prosperous commonwealth.
“While this increase is a step in the right direction, there is much more we can do to help families find and afford child care. Pennsylvania must continue to build a robust early learning sector while working to improve system quality and stability.”
Budget Gives a Slight Boost to Pre-K Counts and Head Start
“Pre-K for PA appreciates the recognition by the Shapiro Administration and General Assembly of the critical role high-quality pre-k plays in supporting children, families and communities across the Commonwealth. The 2026-27 final state budget provides $3.75 million in new state funding for Pre-K Counts and $1.043 million for the Head Start Supplemental Assistance Program to help stabilize early learning providers by increasing per-child rates – an important investment to help stabilize programs facing rising costs and persistent staffing shortages due to low wages.
“While these funding increases are a meaningful step forward, they fall short of the level needed to fully address the challenges facing Pennsylvania’s early learning system. To meet the growing needs of children and families, policymakers should invest additional funding to strengthen and expand these programs.
“We remain committed to working with policymakers to build on this progress through sustained investments that strengthen the early childhood workforce, address the ongoing teacher recruitment and retention crisis and ensure high-quality early learning programs remain strong, stable and accessible to families across the Commonwealth.”
Early Intervention Funding Cut Creates Uncertainty for Families and Providers
“We are concerned that the final budget includes a $5.2 million cut to infant and toddler Early Intervention in the Department of Human Services budget. Although policymakers have indicated they intend to use remaining funds from the current fiscal year to prevent service reductions, the 2.6% decrease creates confusion and uncertainty for families and providers alike.
“Early Intervention is a critical, federally required component of the early care and education continuum. Children from birth through age five with developmental delays, regardless of family income, must be identified, referred to and provided the services they need to help them and their families reach their fullest potential.
“Our concern is further underscored by OCDEL’s Early Intervention Rate Methodology Study, which found that infant and toddler rates were underfunded by more than $71 million –- nearly 40% – in FY 2022-23. That deficit has continued to grow in the years since – now upwards of $116 million. Without addressing the workforce shortages caused by this ongoing rate deficit, providers will remain severely constrained, making it harder for families to access services their children are entitled to under federal law.
“Early Intervention programs continue to see significant annual increases in the number of children needing these critical services. Moving forward, we will focus our efforts on ensuring families can continue to access the supports their children need.”
2026-27 PA State Budget Includes:
- $5 million in additional funding for the Child Care Staff Recruitment and Retention Program.
- $3.75 million in additional funding for the Pre-K Counts program.
- $1.043 million in additional funding for the Head Start Supplemental Assistance Program.
- $1.129 million for the Child Care Assistance line item.
- Level funding for the Child Care Services line item.
- A $5.2 million reduction in funding for the infant and toddler Early Intervention program in the Department of Human Services budget. The Department is using prior-year funds to keep the program whole and maintain the rate increase provided in fiscal year 2025-26.
- $41.221 million in additional funding for preschool Early Intervention in the Department of Education budget.
- Level funding for evidence-based home visiting in the Community-Based Family Center line item, with a small reduction in the Nurse-Family Partnership line item due to a change in federal matching rates.
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