Report calls for $95M a year to boost early childcare learning

(The Center Square) − A report from the Early Childhood Care and Education Commission is urging Louisiana leaders to lock in a decade of new early-childhood funding, warning that child-care shortages are sidelining parents from the labor force and dulling the state’s growth prospects. In a report titled “Building on What Works,” the panel links affordable, high-quality care for infants and toddlers to Louisiana’s ability to fill tens of thousands of anticipated jobs and sustain recent economic momentum. The document also notes that its “findings and recommendations are the Commission’s alone and do not represent the Louisiana Department of Education’s position."

Their chief recommendation is a long-range, recurring state commitment: “Invest an additional $95 million … now and an additiona