A Look Back at the Last 60 Days:
The 2024 Legislative Session came to a close on March 7. Over a period of 60 days, Washington state legislators debated and passed policy and funding changes to support a number of high-profile issues including housing, healthcare, education, climate, and early learning.
We’re proud to celebrate a number of “wins” for the early learning community, none of which could have occurred without support and engagement from so many of you. We’d like to extend our gratitude to the entire BrightSpark community of staff, providers, and families!. Thank you for the unwavering trust and for the support and insight you provided.
We’d like to give a shoutout to a few particular individuals or teams for their above-and-beyond support:
- Advocacy Advisors (Barbara Miller, Bob Findlay, Mica Slater, Savannah Stannard)
- BrightSpark Advocacy Pods
- The Family Call Center’s Staff
- Early Learning Coaches
Our collective advocacy led to over $57 million in new investments into the early learning system. We know there is much more work to do, but this year the legislature:
- bolstered infant and early childhood mental health consultation;
- made critical improvements to early learning subsidy programs;
- expanded programs and benefits for child care providers;
- increased opportunity for statewide engagement;
- funded early learning facilities;
- and more!
This blog post provides a comprehensive, deep-dive into specific details about what happened and what we know so far about how these changes will be implemented.
Although the Legislative Session ends, the work does not! Our team at BrightSpark will be working to organize and mobilize in support of a statewide narrative to uplift universal access to child care and thriving wages for providers.
Don’t hesitate to contact us at advocacy@childcare.org if you have any questions or want to get involved.
Did you know? The vast majority of BrightSpark’s Advocacy work is made possible by individual gifts!
Your donation helps us continue working with legislators and mobilizing advocates to create child-centered, antiracist early learning communities.