Funding

"Funding Inclusive Child Care" -- A State Legislative Report (Volume 24, Issue 1, January 1999) from the National Conference of State Legislatures, analyzes the variety of different strategies and sources for funding inclusive child care that are being used throughout the United States.

The Alliance on Early Childhood Finance's Web site is sprinkled with links to the full text versions of several publications on funding approaches. The second volume of Financing Child Care in the United States: An Illustrative Catalog of Current Strategies currently is being developed and the authors are seeking information about new financing approaches that are being tried in states and communities. A partnership initiative, the Alliance's mission is to seek more rational financing of child care in America.

Fiscal Resources for Inclusion fact sheet (PDF: 1,488kb) developed by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Substance Abuse Services, focuses on children ages 5 years and under, although some of the categories also can be used for school-age children.

The Web site of the National Child Care Information Center offers several resources on funding inclusive child care programs:

• "Funding Inclusive Child Care: A Legislative Perspective" -- An exploration of funding sources and policy surrounding inclusion.
• "Passages to Inclusion: Emerging Issues" IV. Financing — This monograph is a synthesis of the solutions and strategies generated during a 1995 forum on inclusion sponsored by several Federal agencies. Written for child care administrators to foster the inclusion of children with disabilities in child care settings, the finance section discusses funding sources, collaboration and partnerships in financing, and funding strategies.
• "Special Needs Rates: Supporting Inclusion of Children With Disabilities in Child Care Programs" — This resource addresses commonly asked questions about the issue of special needs rates, that is, states paying higher reimbursement rates to child care programs and providers serving children with special needs. Specific examples are presented of how states are implementing special needs rates.
• State Strategies for Financing Early Childhood — As an increasing number of states become involved in early childhood education, several strategies have emerged for financing these initiatives. The Education Commission of the States Web Site provides examples of resources states are tapping to fund early childhood programs, as well as ways states are investing to improve these programs.