State Budget Finalized
On June 30, Governor Quinn signed into law the FY12 state budget bills, which included cuts to early childhood programs. Quinn also used his amendatory veto powers to trim an additional $376 million from the FY12 budget passed by the General Assembly. His veto authority only allows him to reduce funding and not redirect it to other areas of priority. The governor's statement details the actions he took and reiterates his support for early childhood education.
Thank you for all of the emails and phone calls you made to state legislators this year. While we are disheartened to see any cuts to early childhood services, we know that the cuts could have been much worse. Your advocacy efforts do make a difference and your dedication to young children will be increasingly necessary as we move forward.
Except where the governor made changes, the rest of the budget now becomes law. Here's how early childhood programs fared:
- 5% cut to the Early Childhood Block Grant (funding preschool and birth-to-three programs) in the State Board of Education. The cut will be administered through the recent reapplication process and programs serving higher percentages of at-risk children will be prioritized. The City of Chicago has indicated it will not reduce early childhood services.
- 1% cut to home visitation services funded through the Department of Human Services (DHS). DHS has indicated it will mitigate that cut so that neither current service levels nor the state's eligibility for federal home visitation funds is jeopardized.
- 1% cut to state funding for child care services, also in DHS. This is in addition to program cuts made in April 2011 that reduced income eligibility for families and increased the amount families pay toward their child care services.
- 10% increase for Early Intervention, which provides services for children from birth to age three with diagnosed developmental delays.
- Elimination of funding for the Children's Mental Health Partnership in the Department of Human Services. This program has provided consultation and treatment services and worked to improve the scope, quality of, and access to mental health supports for families with young children.
The tax increase passed in January provided some relief to the budget and kept it from being universally devastating. However, other services critically important to vulnerable children and their families were severely impacted, including funding for mental health services, after-school programs and homeless services.
Budget changes the governor made included reducing school transportation funding to FY11 levels, eliminating General Revenue funds for the Regional Offices of Education, and reducing medical payments to hospitals. He also eliminated lines of funding that were inadvertently included twice in the package of budget bills. It is unclear whether or when the General Assembly will return to Springfield to take action on the lines vetoed by the governor.
We will keep you posted on new developments and advocacy opportunities.
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