Advocating for access to high-quality early childhood education for every Louisiana child and family
BATON ROUGE — Members of the Ready Louisiana Coalition joined together on Tuesday for the 2025 Early Ed Day at the Capitol to highlight the ongoing need for additional investments in early childhood education (ECE) to strengthen the future of Louisiana children and working families and boost the state’s economy.
The coalition comprised of more than 180 organizations, including chambers of commerce, civic organizations, businesses, and advocacy organizations representing more than 1 million people in Louisiana’s workforce, is urging the Louisiana legislature to invest at least $87.8 million into the Child Care Assistance Program in the FY 2025-26 state budget. Without this funding, thousands of children will lose their child care seats, and their parents will be unable to participate in the workforce reliably.
Two-thirds of Louisiana’s children under age 6 have all available parents in the workforce, making access to dependable early childhood education essential for working families to stay employed and pursue career advancement. Sadly, only one in five in-need Louisiana children can access a publicly funded, high-quality early childhood education program.
As of March 2025, the Louisiana Department of Education reported a waitlist of over 4,500 children for the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP). Parents across the state echo the urgency. Many are forced to make difficult decisions when child care is unaffordable or unavailable.
“CCAP helps parents like me secure quality child care for their children while they work,” said Krystle Johnson, a parent from Jefferson Davis Parish. “It gives parents like me the peace of mind that our children are in safe, nurturing environments while we build a better future. Investing in programs like CCAP isn’t just about child care, it’s about giving families the chance to succeed.”
There are two state funding sources that support educating and caring for children birth to age three in Louisiana:
- The Child Care Assistance Program serves approximately 13,700 children ages 0-3 through a combination of state and federal funds.
- The Louisiana Early Childhood Education Fund (ECE Fund) offers local entities a dollar-for-dollar match on ECE investments. With communities in Ascension, Assumption, Bossier, Caddo, East Baton Rouge, Grant, Jefferson, Natchitoches, Orleans, Pointe Coupee, Rapides, Tangipahoa, and Webster parishes investing local ECE dollars and more in the works, the ECE Fund is anticipated to be exhausted within one to two years.
In 2024, cuts to key early childhood education programs, including the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) and LA4, resulted in the loss of access to child care for 720 children. This setback deepened an already urgent crisis: nearly 100,000 children in Louisiana who need high-quality, affordable early learning still cannot access it. Without further investment, too many Louisiana families will not have access to affordable, quality child care, and too many children will arrive at kindergarten behind.
“According to United For ALICE data, child care is often the most costly item in a family’s budget, making it one of the first things households skimp on or bypass altogether – meaning parents miss work, kids miss out and the entire community suffers,” said Michael Williamson, United Way of Southeast Louisiana president and CEO. “Investing in early education is one of the most impactful, proven strategies we have to support Louisianans today while building a stronger Louisiana for tomorrow.”
Nobel Prize-winning economist James Heckman states that “the highest rate of return in early childhood development comes from investing as early as possible, from birth through age 5, in disadvantaged families.”
Louisiana spends around 1% of its state budget on early childhood education, despite being the area Heckman calls the best investment of public dollars.
“In a time of workforce shortages and economic uncertainty, child care is infrastructure,” said Libbie Sonnier, PhD, chief executive officer of the Louisiana Policy Institute for Children. “When families can’t access or afford quality early childhood education, parents are forced to leave the workforce, and children miss out on the critical brain-building years that shape their futures. This is not only a family issue — it’s a statewide economic issue.”
Individuals and organizations interested in learning more about Ready Louisiana, its legislative ask, and ways to advocate for increased ECE funding may visit ReadyLouisiana.org.
About Ready Louisiana
The Ready Louisiana Coalition — a bipartisan group of over 180 organizations, including chambers of commerce, civic organizations, businesses, and advocacy organizations representing more than 1 million people in Louisiana’s workforce — exists to advocate for one issue: increased access to high-quality early care and education for the Louisiana children and families who need it. Our membership believes that investing in high-quality early care and education will enable parents to be productive in the workforce, serve as an economic engine for communities across Louisiana, and prepare our youngest children for a smart start in life. View the coalition’s 2025 legislative joint statement here.