The Joint Economic Committee held a hearing on Wednesday April 10, 2024 entitled, Building Blocks for Success: Investing in Early Childhood Education. The goal of this hearing was to address the need for funding in the world of early childhood education and those families who need child care. Four witnesses came to testify before the committee. The witnesses included Honorable Javier Martínez, a speaker for the New Mexico House of Representatives, Ms. Melissa Boteach, VP for Income Security and Child Care/ Early Learning at the National Women’s Law Center, Dr. Lindsey Burke, Director for Education Policy at The Heritage Foundation, and Mrs. Colleen Hroncich, Policy Analyst at the Cato Institute.

The main discourse of the hearing was that in order to best support our children and families, we need to invest in them. There was also a conversation regarding how the economy is affected when parents are unable to work/have access to affordable child care. However, the hearing failed to draw an overall unanimous conclusion or among the parties/witnesses present, nor was there a clear path forward presented. CWLA continues to support robust funding across all aspects of the early childhood continuum.

By Carlin Whalen, Policy Intern