Child Care and Development Programs in California: Key Context and Current Issues

California’s expansion of Transitional Kindergarten is backed by a significant state investment, with TK funding distributed through the state’s school funding formula and adjusted based on student attendance. However, multilingual TK students are not yet fully captured in the funding formula. California has made a significant investment to expand access to early education … Continued

Across California, the demand for publicly funded child care far exceeds the supply. In 2024, only 16% of children eligible for publicly funded child care were enrolled. While state spending for publicly funded child care still falls short of the need, access to child care has improved over time, largely due to the … Continued