Dive Brief:
- A private-public partnership will invest $1 billion in early learning programs, the Associated Press reported Wednesday.
- The investment, announced at a White House summit, will place an additional emphasis on programs in lower-income areas.
- It is part of a larger focus by the Obama administration on the education of children in the first five years of their lives.
Dive Insight:
Eighteen states will get $250 million in grants from the Department of Education, and the Department of Health and Human Services will spend as much as $500 million to expand Early Head Start and child care programs as part of the program, the AP reports, and the White House claims 63,000 children will benefit. The news agency was allowed to preview the information in advance of today's announcement.
The Obama administration has tried to push additional funding for early childhood education programs through Congress for years with mixed success, and the president has mentioned his desire for increased funding in the last two State of the Union addresses.