Jennifer Carroll Foy today released a plan to reform and strengthen early childhood education and child care in Virginia.
The COVID-19 pandemic widened existing inequities in Virginia’s education system, especially for early learners, and has added yet another burden for working parents.
The plan from Carroll Foy, a candidate for the Democratic Party nomination for governor, creates a more accessible and just environment for Virginia’s children, so that every child in the Commonwealth has an opportunity to thrive.
“I’m a mom to twin 3-year olds, so affording child care isn’t just something I talk about –– it’s something I think about and have to budget for every single day. Working parents like myself know affordable, high quality child care and early childhood education are critical for our children and our Commonwealth’s success,” Carroll Foy said.
“As governor, I will fight to make the investments our children deserve –– from raising the quality of our early childhood education programs to ensuring working families can afford the childcare essential for parents looking to balance bringing home a paycheck and raising a family. Under a Carroll Foy administration, every parent and every child will have an equal shot at real opportunity.”
Key highlights of her plan include:
- Implement full-day preschool for at-risk three- and four-year-olds by expanding Virginia Preschool Initiative (VPI) eligibility criteria to include three year olds, while investing more VPI funding per pupil.
- Expand the Working Families Earned Income Tax Credit to provide working families with an income boost to help pay for costs like child care.
- Ensure dedicated funding streams from the Commonwealth to provide reliable resources for early childhood education programs.
- Promote mixed delivery strategies to allow community-based and private programs to access state funding.
- Increase teacher pay for early childhood educators, so we can recruit, train, and retain excellent teachers for our children.
- Develop and execute a statewide assessment to ensure high-quality instruction.
- Establish a task force to develop a plan to improve access to and the affordability of child care so that cost is not a barrier to working families.
- Promote strategies to strengthen and support the child care industry through background check portability and the use of subsidy contracts.
- Increase the value and reach of child care subsidies.
- Enact a Quality Rating Improvement System to create a pathway for uniform and high-quality outcomes across Virginia.
Read her full plan here.
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