Erikson Institute applauds Governor Pritzker’s proposed Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 budget for the State of Illinois’ children and families. It builds on notable strides made in the FY24 budget through the governor’s inaugural Smart Start initiative and its investments that signified a strong commitment to resources for children and families.
The Governor’s proposed investments for Year 2 of Smart Start are:
One of the key factors in ensuring a stable early care and education system is sustaining and growing the workforce. While $5 million toward the ECACE program will help support early childhood staff working toward a degree, it is also much less than the previous multi-year investment and could strip away some of the program’s services and likely reduce scholarship amounts. Investments in the workforce should continue to grow and we hope the budget for the ECACE program does not shrink over time. Many of the Governor’s goals to serve as many children as possible are directly linked to the workforce and investments need to be safeguarded.
Governor Pritzker announced investments that help build basic-needs stability for families. We are heartened by the attention given to the Black maternal morbidity issue and the initiative to have doulas, midwives, and lactation consultants recognized as Medicaid healthcare providers to increase access to their services. Additionally, through a buy-back debt program, $1B in medical debt can be eliminated for 340,000 Illinoisans for a reduced buy-back cost of $10M. This proposed appropriation would give families opportunities to reserve household income for other necessities like child care or housing. The Governor also unscored the need to address the deep disparities Black Illinoisans are experiencing when it comes to homelessness. A proposed $50M would be dedicated to addressing root causes of housing insecurity in the Black community.
The Governor including $13.2 million to begin the planning of a unified Department of Early Childhood is significant because it comes after much input and advocacy from parents, service providers, community leaders and other professionals. Erikson commends this new direction which can help alleviate roadblocks and confusion families experience while navigating through programs housed in various agencies. We implore the Governor and the team charged with leading the new agency to center racial equity and continue seeking public input during the planning and implementation stages.
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