New State Budget Short-changes Investments that Support Early Childhood Development

North Carolina’s youngest people represent the promise and potential for the future overall health and well-being of our state. Accordingly, investments that we make today to promote and ensure access to early childhood learning and development, regardless of where families and toddlers reside in the state, directly impact the ability of communities to thrive — today and in the future. Unfortunately, state support for initiatives that promote the healthy development of children in the early years of their lives has eroded. Rather than expand these initiatives to serve more toddlers, state lawmakers have instead made state budget decisions in recent years that short-change investments that prepare one of our most valuable assets — toddlers — for future success as students, adolescents, adults, and citizens.