5.06.2013 Despite a vast body of research demonstrating that spending on child care and development reaps a high return on investment, California child care has taken more than its fair share of cuts. Last year Governor Brown blue-penciled $10.1 million, a relatively small but significant amount to child care, from the non-Proposition 98 General Fund, which was designated as state supplemental meal reimbursement to the federally-funded Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) for participant child care centers and nonprofit sponsor organizations of family child care (FCC) providers. The state funding for CACFP had been in place since 1975 and supported the serving of nutritious foods to children in child care.
In March 2013 CFPA partnered with the Child Care Food Program Roundtable to measure the specific impact of the elimination of the state meal reimbursement. The survey findings confirm that, as predicted, the state meal reimbursement budget cut has been detrimental to quality of foods served and breadth of resources offered through CACFP.
As the overall state budget environment improves, CFPA is reminding the legislature about the importance of early childhood nutrition and exploring strategies to reinvest in child care programs. Join us by asking your legislators to restore funding for child care nutrition!
CFPA and the CCFP Roundtable prepared a document that summarizes the issue and survey findings for you to share with your legislators. PDF
Questions? Contact Elyse Homel Vitale at 510.433.1122 x206
