PRINTER'S NO. 1487
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE RESOLUTION
No.
261
Session of
2024
INTRODUCED BY STEFANO, APRIL 5, 2024
REFERRED TO RULES AND EXECUTIVE NOMINATIONS, APRIL 5, 2024
A RESOLUTION
Recognizing April 6 through 12, 2024, as the "Week of the Young
Child" in Pennsylvania.
WHEREAS, The first years of life our brains grow faster than
any other time; and
WHEREAS, This is the foundation upon which all later
learning, behavior and health depend; and
WHEREAS, Children's cognitive, physical, social and emotional
and language and literacy development are built on a foundation
of children's positive interactions with adults, peers and their
environment; and
WHEREAS, There are 1.2 million children between birth and
eight years of age in this Commonwealth, 18% of whom live in
low-income families; and
WHEREAS, High-quality early childhood programs provide
important benefits to children, families and this Commonwealth
and national economies; and
WHEREAS, Participation in high-quality childhood education
saves taxpayer dollars, makes working families more economically
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secure and prepares children to succeed in school, earn higher
wages and live healthier lives; and
WHEREAS, Parents will always be the most important influence
on their children, and there are nearly 796,000 working parents
with children under six years of age in this Commonwealth; and
WHEREAS, Evidence-based programs that strengthen our families
and ensure access to high-quality early care and education are
needed to maximize children's potential in the first five years;
and
WHEREAS, Despite the proven benefits of high-quality early
care and education, more eligible Pennsylvania children and
families need access to these services; and
WHEREAS, Just 2% of all children under six years of age and
only 7% of low-income children under six years of age are
receiving publicly funded, evidence-based home visiting
services; and
WHEREAS, Only 49% of subsidized children under five years of
age and 45% of subsidized infants and toddlers attend a high-
quality child-care program and only 46% of child-care capacity
in this Commonwealth meets high-quality standards; and
WHEREAS, Seventy-one percent of eligible children under five
years of age and 75% of eligible infants and toddlers are not
enrolled in the Child Care Works subsidized child-care program;
and
WHEREAS, Fifty-seven percent of eligible children three and
four years of age do not have access to high-quality
prekindergarten; and
WHEREAS, Early childhood educators and professionals should
be valued, respected and compensated for the important roles
they play; and
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WHEREAS, Many early childhood educators earn poverty-level
wages and do not have basic workplace benefits, including health
insurance and paid sick leave; and
WHEREAS, Twenty-one percent of child-care workers in this
Commonwealth make so little that they live in families accessing
public benefits; and
WHEREAS, Paying the costs of high-quality early childhood
education is a revenue-generating investment over time resulting
in a broad range of benefits that accrue to individuals and
society at large; and
WHEREAS, Payment rates provided to early childhood programs
to provide high-quality early care and education services to
low-income children do not cover the costs of quality; and
WHEREAS, The continued staffing crisis can be detrimental to
the quality of the environment, impacting the development of
young children and families' ability to work; and
WHEREAS, The lack of sufficient and sustained public
investment results in staffing shortages caused by low
compensation, which are leading to child care supply shortages
that negatively impact families' ability to work, children's
access to safe and quality care and educators' health and well-
being; and
WHEREAS, Young children need skilled, educated, competent,
consistent and compensated early childhood educators; and
WHEREAS, Working families need sufficient high-quality child-
care spaces beginning at birth to be available in the community;
and
WHEREAS, Early childhood educations need the ability to earn
a family-sustaining wage that is commensurate with the required
education and skills they bring to the complex and valuable work
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they do; therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the Senate recognize April 6 through 12, 2024,
as the "Week of the Young Child" in Pennsylvania.
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