SPOKANE, Wash. — Some local educators are worried about the future of Washington’s youngest learners due to impending statewide budget cuts.
Washington’s Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP), helps prepare low-income children, ages 3-4, prepare for success in school and life.
The state is currently facing a multi-billion dollar budget deficit, which has put pressure on multiple departments to make significant cuts.
The Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) suggested a few ways to cut their budget, including eliminating 1,800 ECEAP slots and completely eliminating the Early ECEAP Program. Together, those cuts would restore about $77 million to the budget.
Early childhood educators throughout the state said they are deeply concerned about what these cuts could mean for families and young children.
“I think it is kind of heartbreaking,” said Bri Coleman, Family Services Coordinator at West Valley Early Learning.
Coleman has experience with ECEAP both professionally, and as a parent who used the service.
“When I was going to college at Eastern, I was a single mom, and I couldn’t afford childcare, and so I found ECEAP there, which was incredibly helpful. I don’t know how I would have paid for childcare during that time,” she said.
Coleman is not alone. 14,442 children have been served through ECEAP.
“We have students that have nowhere to go. There’s no childcare locations, there’s no early learning. So it’s going to impact our bigger system, the K-5 system, because kids are going to come less prepared for kindergarten,” said Barbara Sattler, Program Director at Central Valley Early Learning Program.
In the nearly 40 years ECEAP has existed, it has grown to accommodate more and more working families. Advocates for the program said they are worried that cutting its funding could make things harder for parents who cannot stay home.
“When you get in the way of that, it really does have a ripple effect and make it harder for those kids to do well in school and makes it harder for those parents to go to work and be able to work multiple shifts and work extra hours they need to pay their bills,” said Joel Ryan, Executive Director of Washington State Association of Head Start and ECEAP.
DCYF said the program was under-enrolled in 2024, so the proposed reductions would have no impact. Nevertheless, many educators are bracing themselves for a difficult road ahead.
No action is being taken at this time. The final call on these budget options is up to the Governor and Legislators.
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