Early Childhood Funding on the Brink of Elimination
May 18, 2009
Governor Quinn proposed a version of the budget that COMPLETELY ELIMINATES FUNDING for critical services for young children and their families. The budget:
- Eliminates the Early Childhood Block Grant, forcing 100,000 children out of preschool, cutting services for infants and toddlers, and causing more than 5,000 teachers to lose their jobs.
- Eliminates healthcare for 300,000 children and 175,000 parents.
- Cuts $769 million from the Department of Human Services, affecting more than 100,000 people.
- Cuts state agencies' funding by 37 percent
These cuts and others would devastate efforts to close the achievement gap for low-income children and severely impact the most vulnerable families in our state.
We need you to take two urgent actions today:
- Call Governor Quinn at 217.782.0244 and voice your opposition to any cuts in the Early Childhood Block Grant.
- Email and call your legislators and urge them to oppose a budget that cuts funding for early childhood programs.
To prevent these devastating cuts, you can also:
- Encourage all your friends, family, coworkers, board members, and program participants to take action to protect funding for early childhood programs.
- Write a letter to your local newspaper so that legislators feel pressure from the community as a whole, including the media.
Ounce staff members are always available if you have questions. If you need help writing your letter or conversing with your legislators, please contact us.
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