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Restore State Funds for Early Childcare

LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Published in The Miami Herald

The Children’s Trust, in partnership with the Early Learning Coalition of Miami-Dade/Monroe and other agencies, has done its utmost. Yet 4,500 local school-age children currently enrolled in Florida’s subsidized School Readiness program must now be cast out. Statewide, 15,000 children will be excluded. The timing couldn’t be worse for working-class families — this vital program helps cover childcare costs and allow parents to seek work or maintain their jobs while their children learn.

The 2011 Florida Legislature’s decision to sacrifice almost $90 million in critical childcare funds — $30 million for Voluntary Pre-K and $57 million for School Readiness — portends disastrous consequences for the state. Miami-Dade County will suffer mightily; our proportionate loss of $13 million comes at a time when local government is handcuffed by property tax shortfalls.

For a Legislature that marched to the tune of “jobs, jobs, jobs,” it seems shortsighted and ill-advised to abandon programs such as these that stimulate the economy. A July 2009 Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation report determined that “high-quality early education is a sound investment that provides a higher rate of return by supporting parents and children while enhancing Florida’s economic growth.”

The childcare field provides thousands of jobs and stimulates economic activity through the purchase of goods and services from other state industries.

Our county already faces an overwhelming unmet need for quality early care and education, vital for a child’s preparation for school and lifelong success. The Legislature’s inaction communicates that children are unaffordable — surely this cannot be lawmakers’ intent. Full funding of School Readiness and VPK is called for. Let the voices of 15,000 children resound in the governor’s office: Restore these dollars.

Maria Alonso, board chair, The Children’s Trust, Miami

Octavio A. Verdeja Jr., board chair, Early Learning Coalition of Miami-Dade/Monroe, Miami