Strengthening Children, Youth and Families

Systems and Financing

Quality child care and early education programs address the full range of child development needs, which requires their linkage with health and nutrition services, family support, and early intervention at both the state and local level. States may need to develop new governance and financing structures that assure that all the parts of a system are working in a coordinated way. Such systems encourage horizontal connections across systems--for example, child care, Head Start, state pre-kindergarten programs, and early intervention services--as well as vertical connections of services from birth to 5 to provide continuity and coordination for children as they grow. CLASP encourages states to move toward more integrated governance and financing systems and to think across systems to make the best use of resources and design an early childhood system that best meets the needs of all children and families.

In Focus

Write a Letter Thanking the President for His Historic Early Childhood Investment

Recently, President Obama released his 2014 budget proposal. This budget includes historic investments across several early childhood programs including increased investment in a comprehensive birth-to-five early education continuum built upon child care, home visiting, Head Start, Early Head Start, and preschool - all critical programs for children, especially the most vulnerable children.

With our partners from the Strong Start for Children - Building America's Future campaign, CLASP will be collecting thank you notes from across the country and delivering them to the White House. Please join us in thanking President Obama for making investments in young children a priority!

Mail us your hard copy letters (a drawing or hand print by a child on your letter would be great) to deliver to the White House. We must receive all letters at CLASP by Monday, April 29. Please send your letters and drawings to: Emily Firgens, CLASP, 1200 18^th ST NW, Suite 200, Washington DC, 20036. You can also email your letters to efirgens@clasp.org. We are collecting them rather than asking you to send them directly to the White House due to security protocols.

We hope you will join us in thanking President Obama for his early childhood initiative by sending CLASP your letters by May 2!

Thank you, and please contact Emily Firgens at efirgens@clasp.org or 202-906-8031 if you have any questions.