In 2002 and again in 2008, voters in Miami-Dade County approved a referendum to increase property taxes to pay for the operation of the Children’s Trust, a local government entity that allocates funds for child care and early learning programs in the county. The property tax increases by $.50 for every $1,000 of assessed property value. About $100 million in revenue is raised annually through this funding stream, which is dedicated to the operation of the Children’s Trust in Miami-Dade County.  In FY 2023-24, the Children’s Trust allocated grants totaling $43,411,017 to sites across the county working to champion early childhood development. These organizations undertake child care quality improvement efforts, increase early care and education slots across the county, conduct research on child care’s impact on the community, and boost early intervention services. The Children’s Trust exists in perpetuity.  LEARN MORE: Miami-Dade Property Tax Referendum Sources: North Carolina Early Childhood Foundation. (n.d.) County of Miami Dade. EditSign The Children's Trust. (2022). 2021-2022 Annual Report. The Children's Trust. (2022). The Children's Trust Funded Programs and Sites FY 2020-2021.

The Michigan Longitudinal Data System (MLDS), established in 2010 by the Michigan Advisory Council and the Center for Educational Performance and Information, is a P-20 longitudinal data system that includes enrollment data on all statewide early childhood programs and services (e.g., data ranging from Head Start to Child Care Subsidies), early childhood impact on K-3 absenteeism, and continuity of service in special education. This federated system (i.e., a sharing system that does not consolidate all data in one warehouse) links data through sharing agreements across multiple agencies, including the Executive Office of Education, Children’s Trust, the Department of Early Education and Care, and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. The system provides demographic, program, and individual level data with unique identifier codes for agencies or approved data requests. A second system, MI School Data, uses MLDS information to provide demographic and program data for public use MLDS was created under Executive Order No. 2010-15 and is supported by a federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) grant. MI School Data has also been supported by a 2006 grant in partnership with Minnesota and Wisconsin ($3,000,000) and a Workforce Data Quality Initiative grant. Learn More: Michigan Longitudinal Data System Sources:Talent2025. (2020). Longitudinal Data Systems in MichiganMI School Data. (n.d.). Early Childhood Landing Page

In 2017, the Milwaukee Common Council approved the creation of the Office of Early Childhood Initiatives (OECI), which opened its doors in November 2018. OECI was championed by Alderman Cavalier Johnson, with the goal of advancing and coordinating early childhood services for children from birth to three years old.  OECI collaborates with the County of Milwaukee as well as state and federal entities that administer services to young children. Among other programs, OECI facilitates collaboration among local early childhood partners, connects families to resources, and serves as a clearinghouse for providers and organizations working to ensure high-quality early education in the city.   learn more: Milwaukee office of early childhood initiatives Sources: City of Milwaukee Early Education Task Force Writing Subgroup. (2017, October). Recommendations. City of Milwaukee. White, A. (2022.) An Equitable Recovery Starts With Early Childhood: How Cities are Leveraging ARPA SLFRF to Support Young Children and Families. National League of Cities.

In 2023, Minnesota lawmakers passed and the governor signed legislation to create a transition process and establish a new cabinet-level state agency—the Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF). Core programs from four current state agencies (the Departments of Education, Human Services, Health, and Public Safety), including  services and programs related to early education and care, will transfer to the new agency. The DCYF will also administer out-of-school-time programs serving youth and families, including after-school, food assistance, and child welfare programs. State leaders created this dedicated agency to foster stronger coordination and better outcomes across programs serving children and families. The DCYF will be established in July 2024; the state will finish transferring programs to the new agency by July 2025. Learn More: DCYF Implementation Sources: Minnesota Legislature. (2023). Minnesota Session Laws: Chapter 70—S.F.No. 2995. Minnesota Office of Management and Budget. (2023). Implementation office for the Department of Children, Youth, and Families. Shockman, E. (2023, May 31). Minnesota lawmakers pledge at least $300 million toward early education. Minnesota Public Radio News.

Created in 2016, the Minnesota Department of Education’s Early Childhood Longitudinal Data System (ECLDS) is an early childhood integrated data system that functions as a warehouse. The system stores and integrates deidentified demographic, program, and individual data on publicly funded early childhood programs and services for young children and families (e.g., Birth Records, Child Care Assistance Program, Early Education, Home Visiting, etc.) across Minnesota’s departments of Education, Health, and Human Services. Private data is shared through the agencies’ data-sharing agreements, and public data are reported at an aggregated (grouped) level. The ECLDS acts as a companion to Minnesota’s Statewide Longitudinal Education Data System to create a P-20 system. The system is funded by federal Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge Grants and Statewide Longitudinal Data System Grants. The ECLDS also receives funds from the Minnesota Office of Higher Education as part of statewide longitudinal data system appropriations. Learn More: Minnesota Education’s Early Childhood Longitudinal Data System Other sources:US Department of Health and Human Services, US Department of Education. (2016). The Integration of Early Childhood Data

Signed into law in 2023, HB 817 will raise the funding rate for early learning collaboratives (ELCs) to $2,500 per child for full-day programs and $1,250 per child for half-day programs. Previous rates were $2,150 for full-day programs and $1,250 for half-day programs. Mississippi’s Early Learning Collaborative Act established state pre-K programs known as “Early Learning Collaboratives” or ELCs. Collaboratives are overseen by the Mississippi Department of Education, even though individual providers may have other oversight agencies. Learn More: Mississippi First Sources: House Bill 817 (2023). Mississippi Legislature 2023 Regular Session

Established in 2021, the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s Early Childhood Integrated Data System functions as a warehouse for early childhood data. The system collects, stores, and maintains demographic and program information on young children’s development and participation in early childhood programs. Data is gathered from Children’s Trust Fund programs (e.g., Home Visiting) and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (e.g., First Steps Early Intervention, Home Visiting Programs, Public Preschool, state-funded Early Head Start). While the data is currently internal to these agencies, the system will link with the state’s Statewide Longitudinal Data System for public use in the future. The system is supported by the federal Preschool Development Birth through 5 Grant. Learn more: Missouri Division of Early Childhood Sources: Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (n.d.). Preschool Development Grant B-5

Monitoring Child Care Supply, Demand, and Access in Nevada, a project of the Nevada Office of Analytics, Department of Health and Human Services, is a data visualization tool . It provides demographic and program data on child care in the state (e.g., subsidies, child care programs, utilization rates, poverty rates, and counts of child care workers) for public use. Updated monthly, the tool makes comparisons across all 50 states. Learn More/source: Nevada Dashboard

In June 2025, the Montana State Legislature passed House Bill 924 with bipartisan support, establishing the Montana Growth and Opportunity Trust (GO Trust), a $930 million, four-year fund to manage and allocate state revenues for various initiatives, including a Montana Early Childhood Account. The Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) will determine how the funds are used and will create a board to oversee the program.   The legislation authorized a one-time transfer of $10 million to the Early Childhood Account, which will then receive 10% of the GO Trust’s interest earnings. In the second, third, and fourth years of the program, the Early Childhood Account is projected to receive $2.3 million, $2.8 million, and $3.2 million, respectively, from the GO Trust’s interest earnings. The account can also receive private donations. A newly created board, which includes state officials, representatives from state and local community organizations, child care providers, and a parent, will determine how to use the funds. Funds from the Montana Early Childhood Account are expected to: help recruit and retain child care workers, support infants and children with special needs, and make child care more affordable by expanding child care subsidy programs. The fund may also be used to improve early learning environments, increase the accessibility of before- and after-school care, and offer emergency assistance and disaster relief for child care programs.   learn more: montana early childhood account Sources: Montana Budget & Policy Center. (2025, August 11). The Growth & Opportunity (GO) Trust: An Overview. Zero to Five Montana. (2025, June). Montana Prioritizes Long-Term Investment in Early Childhood. Montana House Bill 924. (2025).

Established in 2004, the Montana Early Childhood Apprenticeship Program (MECAP) provides on-the-job training, mentorship, and college coursework to support early childhood education providers. After completing the program, apprentices receive a Child Care Development Specialist Certificate and reach Level 4 of Montana's Practitioner Registry. MECAP is a Registered Apprenticeship Program, an on-the-job, paid training model that is validated through the U.S. Department of Labor or a state agency. MECAP started with temporary funds from Montana’s Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS). After the temporary funds were depleted, funding came from the federal Child Care Development Fund, administered by DPHHS. MECAP is a cross-organization partnership coordinated and organized by multiple state agencies, including Montana's Department of Labor and Industry (DLI), the Early Childhood Services Bureau, and Montana State University's Early Childhood Program. Learn More: Montana Early Childhood Project Sources: Child Trends. (2019). Spotlight on the Montana Early Childhood Apprenticeship Program. Montana Early Childhood Project. (n.d.). Montana Early Childhood Apprenticeship Program Childcare Development Specialist. Center for the Study of Child Care Employment. (2020). Apprenticeship Programs, by State/Territory, 2020.

Launched in 2020, Montana’s Early Childhood and Family Support Division in the Department of Public Health and Human Services brings together the states' Child Care and Development Fund, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Part C, Child and Adult Care Food Program, Head Start Collaboration Office, and Early Learning Advisory Council. The Early Childhood Services Bureau’s mission is to improve the quality, affordability, and accessibility of early care and education in Montana, with a focus on creating coordinated systems that meet the needs of young children, their families, and the professionals who serve them. Learn More: Montana Early Childhood and Family Support Division Sources: Montana Early Childhood and Family Support Division (2023) Bipartisan Policy Center (2023). Integrated Efficient Early Care and Education Systems

In November 2020, voters in Multnomah County approved Measure 26-214, or Preschool for All (PFA), which extends free preschool to three- and four-year-olds across the county. Sixty-four percent of voters supported the measure, which was championed by Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson.  PFA is funded by a personal income tax, which the county plans to use to expand the early childhood education system by 12,000 publicly funded preschool slots by 2030. Specifically, the county will create new preschool classrooms, subsidize existing ones, and offer teachers higher pay (from $19.91 to $37 per hour).  To participate, children must be three or four years old by September 1 and have a parent or legal guardian living in Multnomah County. The number of PFA seats will grow over time, increasing the number of providers and families, until the system is universally available in 2030. This program has no expiration date.  LEARN MORE: MULTNOMAH COUNTY PRESCHOOL FOR ALL Sources: Frost, A. (2023). Parents and providers highlight successes of Preschool for All. Oregon Public Broadcasting. Multnomah County Department of County Human Services. (n.d.). Questions & Answers. Peel, S. (2023). Multnomah County’s Big Plans to Fund Universal Preschool Have So Far Produced Pint-Sized Results. Willamette Week.