Established in 2005, Boston's Universal Pre-K (UPK) program, administered by the Boston Public Schools (BPS), offers free preschool for the city’s 3- and 4-year-olds in both public school buildings and community-based childcare organizations. Within a few years, it became apparent that the original funding level of $11,000 per child was inadequate and unsustainable for community-based child care organizations. BPS then partnered with the Children's Funding Project to create a cost model that disaggregated program costs to expose differences based on program length and per-child and per-classroom costs. As a result, in school year 2022–23 BPS implemented a hybrid funding model for UPK classrooms in community-based programs. This new approach provides a base funding level per classroom that covers staff salaries and benefits and an additional funding allocation per UPK-eligible child enrolled in the program. Learn more: children's funding project

Since 2005, Boston’s mixed-delivery Universal Pre-K (UPK)  system has been offered to families with 4-year-olds for 6.5 hours per day, 180 days per year. Universal Pre-K programs in Boston are housed in Boston Public Schools, community-based providers, and family child care providers. Additionally, the city opened applications in March 2023 to include family child care providers in the cohort of programs eligible to offer UPK seats. Learn More: Boston Universal Pre-Kindergarten Sources:Boston Public Schools. (n.d.). About Boston Universal Pre-K.Boston Public Schools. (2022). Boston Universal Pre-K Program 2021-2022 Year in Review.City of Boston. (2023). Steps Taken to Increase Availability, Variety of Preschool Seats for Boston Families.

Brighter Futures Indiana Data Center, created in 2019 by the Indiana Family and Social Services Office of Early Childhood and Out-of-School Learning and Early Learning Indiana, is a data visualization tool. It provides demographic and program data on capacity, quality, supply, demand, affordability, subsidized care, and types of early childhood education programs and services. The public tool has data specifically curated for families, providers, and community members. The Data Center was created using funds from the Preschool Development Grant Birth through Five (PDG B-5). Learn more: Brighter Futures Indiana Data Center Sources:Indiana Family and Social Services Administration. (2019). Office of Early Childhood and Out of School Learning (OECOSL) Preschool Development Grant

In 2021, California legislators approved a plan to provide universal prekindergarten (UPK) to all four-year-olds and targeted pre-K to income-eligible three-year-olds in the state by 2025-26. California UPK employs a mixed-delivery system that comprises programs across the early care and education ecosystem, including the California State Preschool Program (CSPP) and transitional kindergarten (TK), which are both offered by the California Department of Education; Head Start; family child care; private preschools; and community-based organizations. The rollout of UPK is supported by the Universal Prekindergarten Mixed Delivery Planning Grant, which funds local working groups in each county to align plans to expand UPK with those of local education agencies and the county office of education.   Most of the funding for UPK was allocated to expand transitional kindergarten, a free state-wide prekindergarten program for all four-year-olds, regardless of family income. TK programs are administered by K-12 public school districts in California and constitute the first year of a two-year program whose second year is kindergarten. They use a modified kindergarten curriculum, which is aligned with the California Preschool Learning Foundations developed by the California Department of Education. In TK alone, California public schools will serve around 300,000 four-year-olds by 2025-26.  LEARN MORE: CALIFORNIA UNIVERSAL PRE-K Sources: San Francisco Department of Early Childhood. (n.d.). Universal Pre-K FAQ. Leung-Gagné, M., & Melnick, H. (2023). Assessing the phase-in of California’s ambitious universal prekindergarten program. EdSource. Leung-Gagné, M., Wang, V., Melnick, H., & Mauerman, C. (2023). How Are California School Districts Planning for Universal Prekindergarten? Results From a 2022 Survey. Learning Policy Institute.

In fall 2024, Cambridge launched the Cambridge Preschool Program (CPP), which offers free school-day, school-year preschool to all 4-year-olds and eligible 3-year-olds in the city. CPP was created using a $20 million allocation from the municipal budget in FY24. The FY25 budget included $34 million in funding for CPP across the city and school system budgets.  The expansion boosted the city’s early education capacity to approximately 1,000 slots for 4-year-olds and 300 for 3-year-olds. CPP partnered with existing licensed providers in Cambridge Public Schools, the Department of Human Service Programs, Head Start, and select private preschool and family child care providers, who agreed to use certain curricula. The city also created a one-stop information hub and application for all programs in the CPP. learn more: cambridge preschool program Sources: Cambridge Office of Early Childhood. (n.d.). Cambridge Preschool Program. Jung, C. (2023, June 9). Inside the plan to expand universal pre-K in Cambridge. WBUR. Lin, D. G., & Schwartz, E. T. (2024). No More Baby Steps: Cambridge Universal Pre-K Launches After 30-Year Effort. The Harvard Crimson.

The Center for Early Childhood Professional Development (CECPD) in Oklahoma is a centralized statewide program that offers conferences and training opportunities to early childhood teachers and directors/administrators. CECPD was created in 1998 with federal child development block grant funds. Now, most funding is provided by Oklahoma Department of Human Services/Child Care Services. CECPD is open to people who work in licensed child care facilities throughout Oklahoma. The Instructional Coaching Institute is a 3-day intense professional development program specifically for instructional classroom coaches. Coaching Innovations is a continuation of the Institute, providing targeted and individualized on-site professional development for instructional coaches. Teachers receive professional development in early literacy foundations for children birth through kindergarten, and literacy sessions are also available online. Learn more: Center for Early Childhood Professional Development Sources: Center for Early Childhood Professional Development. (n.d.). About Us. Oklahoma Human Services. (n.d.). Center for Early Childhood Professional Development. University of Oklahoma. (n.d.). Instructional Coaching Innovations Center for Early Childhood Professional Development.

Rhode Island’s Center for Early Learning Professionals offers in-person, online, and hybrid professional development opportunities in the form of intensive, multi-session training series. Participants receive assignments to apply skills in their work. The Center also offers on-site coaching and mentoring to support training implementation. Diverse training is open to all early care and education professionals in Rhode Island who serve children age birth to 5 in child care centers, family child care homes, public school inclusion preschools, and state-funded pre-K programs. The Center is funded by the Rhode Island Department of Human Services (DHS) as the workforce development hub for the birth-to-5 early learning community. The Center partners with BrightStars and other DHS-funded community partners to coordinate the delivery of services to best meet the individual needs of programs and providers. Learn more: Rhode Island Center for Early Learning Professionals Sources: Center for Early Learning Professionals. (n.d.). CELP PD. Center for Early Learning Professionals. (n.d.). What we do.

In 2022, the Northern Illinois University Research & Data Collaborative launched the Chicago Early Childhood Integrated Data System (CECIDS), which is governed by the City of Chicago. The system functions as a cloud-based data hub and data visualization tool for demographic, program, and individual data related to 52 specific early childhood questions and use cases. CECIDS is governed by multiple agencies and organizations (e.g., City of Chicago Department of Family and Support Services, Chicago Public Schools, and Illinois Network of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies, and others) and shares state and city data across multiple stakeholders (e.g., City of Chicago: Mayor’s Office, Governor’s Office of Early Childhood Development, Illinois Action for Children, Illinois Department of Human Services, Illinois State Board of Education, and others) for public use. CECIDS hosts a data dashboard and data visualization tool with demographic and program eligibility and services data. The system is funded by philanthropic donations, the City of Chicago, and the State of Illinois. Learn more/source: Chicago Early Childhood Integrated Data System

In 2018, through a partnership between the Mayor’s Office, City Colleges of Chicago (CCC), Harry S. Truman College, Chicago Public Schools (CPS), and the Department of Family & Support Services (DFSS), Chicago created the Chicago Early Learning Workforce Scholarship (CELWS) initiative. CELWS empowers the early learning workforce to take courses and earn a credential, degree, endorsement or licensure to work with young children (birth through pre-K) and families in Chicago programs. The scholarship covers 100% of tuition, plus up to $250 in books per course, but it functions as a “last dollar” scholarship in that it covers everything that students’ federal grants and other scholarships do not. The scholarship is open to any Chicago resident who wants to enter the early childhood workforce. Parents of children enrolled in a Chicago program and recent high-school graduates are encouraged to apply, and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients are eligible. CELWS recipients must commit to working in a Chicago early learning program (including CPS Pre-K and Head Start/Early Head Start/PFA/PI funded community-based programs) for a minimum of three years after completing the degree or approved academic program. Learn more: Chicago Early Learning Workforce Scholarship Source: Chicago Early Learning. (n.d.). Workforce Scholarship.

On July 1, 2024, Maine’s Office of Child and Family Services launched the Child Care Affordability Program (CCAP) Child Care Employment Award, a 2-year pilot program designed to make child care more affordable for those working in the state’s licensed child care programs. The program is made possible by $2.5 million per year in State General Funds and ends in June 2026.  All staff employed by licensed child care programs are eligible to apply for the Child Care Employment Award to help cover the cost of child care for their children. This includes all staff roles and all types of licensed programs. An applicant’s children can be enrolled in the child care program where the staff member works or at another licensed child care program in the state. To be eligible for the Child Care Employment award, the parent must be working at and the child must be enrolled in a licensed child care program that is part of Maine’s quality rating and improvement system, in which all staff are in Maine’s early childhood education workforce registry, that is participating in the Salary Supplement Program, and that is a qualified CCAP child care provider.  Payments—which are sent directly to the child care provider—are based on the county where the program is located, the age of the child, and the type of program in which the child is enrolled.  learn more: Child Care Affordability Program Child Care Employment Award Sources: Office of Child and Family Services. (2024). Memorandum: CCAP Child Care Employment Award. Maine Department of Health and Human Services.

In 2021, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill No. 131 into law. The bill includes $579 million in funding for child care and preschool providers, including $250 million in infrastructure grants to build or renovate child care facilities, with a focus on underserved areas. This law establishes the Early Learning and Care Infrastructure Grant Program under the administration of the Superintendent of Public Instruction to expand access to early learning and care opportunities for children up to five years of age by providing resources to build new facilities or retrofit, renovate, or expand existing facilities. This law appropriates $245,000,000 from the General Fund to the State Department of Education for these purposes, to be released on a prescribed schedule. The Early Learning and Care Infrastructure Grant Fund offers up to $1.5 million for Child Care and Development Centers and up to $100,000 for Family Child Care homes. The grant can be used to increase licensed spaces by renovating or building out an existing facility by adding classrooms, constructing a brand-new center-based facility, replacing a facility lost due to a state or federally declared disaster, or expanding Small Family Child Care Homes to Large Family Child Care Homes. Learn More: child care and development Infrastructure Grant Program Sources:Northern California Small Business Development Center. (n.d.). Infrastructure Grant ProgramCalifornia Legislature. (n.d.). AB-131 Child Development Programs.Office of Governor Gavin Newsom. (2021). Governor Newsom Signs Legislation Supporting Working Families and Child Care Providers.California Department of Social Services. (n.d.). New Construction and Major Renovation.

In 2022, Kentucky legislators moved to make employees of licensed center-based or family child care programs automatically eligible for child care subsidies via the state’s Child Care Assistance Program, regardless of their household income. The policy was adopted by emergency administrative rulemaking in August 2022 and was simultaneously introduced through the ordinary rulemaking process, taking effect in October 2022. The program was initially paid for with American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds but was financed for two additional years in FY24 using state general funds.   Employees of licensed center-based or family child care programs who work 20 or more hours per week are automatically eligible for the Child Care Assistance Program. After one year of the program’s operation, 3,200 caregivers employed in early education programs and 5,600 children had benefitted from the program.  learn more: kentucky child care assistance for child care providers Sources: National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). (2022, December). Providing Child Care for Child Care Providers: A Strategy for Addressing Staffing Shortages and Compensation for Early Childhood Educators. Powell, A., & Dade, A. (2023). What the Bluegrass State Can Teach Us About Increasing Access to Child Care. Center for the Study of Child Care Employment. Hsu, A. (2023). Kentucky had an outside-the-box idea to fix child care worker shortages. It's working. NPR. Loewenberg, A. (2024). In Effort to Entice Child Care Staff, More States Follow Kentucky’s Lead. Alliance for Early Success.