Policy Priorities
2025 Policy Priorities
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We are deeply concerned with the tax burden of the Infrastructure Grant Program (IGP) awards. We are working urgently to address this issue and deem IGP exempt from personal income and therefore nontaxable. We collected nearly 100 signatures from organizations and individuals on a letter submitted to Assembly member Corey Jackson, Chair of Budget Subcommittee No. 2 on Human Services. We hope to pass an urgent measure in the coming months that includes language that clarifies these grants are exempt from state income tax.
ECE Coalition Budget Letter of Support
Build Up California is a proud member of the California Early Care and Education Coalition. We joined 35 other ECE advocacy groups in signing on to this year’s letter to the state legislature. The letter urges Governor Gavin Newsom and the CA state legislature to maintain their promises to award and distribute ECE spaces appropriated in the previous budget year by June 30, 2024, and develop and implement an alternative rate methodology by June 30, 2024.
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The Infrastructure Grant Program has supported over S,000 child care providers with grants totaling over $350 million to fund repair and renovation projects to expand and enhance both home-based and center-based childcare facilities. This funding, while a historically large state investment, still did not serve all applicants. This year we will continue advocating to allocate more funding to this important program.
2024-2025 State Budget Request - Maintain Current Funding and One-Time $50 Million Child Care Facilities Funding
The Infrastructure Grant Program has supported over 5,000 child care providers with grants totaling over $350 million to fund repair and renovation projects to expand and enhance both home-based and center-based childcare facilities. This funding, while a historically large state investment, still did not serve all applicants. In our letter, we urge the Legislature to maintain their commitment to distributing IGP Major Repair & New Construction grants to awarded providers and to add a one-time $50 million allocation to continue funding the IGP.
Sponsors: Assemblymember Calderon and Assemblymember Papan
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Recently in California, the Office of the State Fire Marshal (OSFM) published changes to the Title 24 Fire and Building Code that are at odds with state child care licensing regulations. The new fire regulation—for which no recent study has been conducted or cited—moves licensed child care facilities with more than five infants and toddlers into a new occupancy group (Group 1-4 Occupancy) with increased requirements. Most notably, child care programs in Groups 1-4 must install an automatic fire sprinkler system. The costs to meet this code change are estimated at $l00K-$200K per classroom, and without any additional funding to address the required changes.
Child care advocates, including Build Up CA, were able to pause the implementation of these changes in order to buy time for child care providers to prepare for potentially large and expensive facility renovations, but this perhaps slows positive changes to child safety protocols. The crux of this issue is how to make child care facilities unquestionably safe for young children without imposing burdensome facility requirements for child care providers and owners.
Build Up California is investing resources this year to research and advocate for policy solutions that keep child care facilities safe while prioritizing what is practical for providers.
CA CCDF Recommendation Letter
In the coming fiscal year, California is estimated to receive an increase of $76,850,822 in Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) funds, totaling over $830,350,950 for the three-year grant cycle. Additionally, the recently released CCDF guidelines provide a change to the definition of minor repairs and renovations allowable under CCDF such that minor repairs are considered those that are up to $350,000 for child care centers and up to $50,000 for family child care homes, unless the renovation does not include structural changes or extensive alteration of the facility. To enhance the childcare landscape, we propose a strategic allocation of CCDF funds towards repair and renovation projects over the next three years (FY25-27). We believe this would improve the quality, safety, and accessibility of child care facilities in California, ultimately benefiting both children and providers.
As such, a CCDF allocation would enhance the physical environment of child care facilities to meet health, safety, and quality standards and improve the overall infrastructure and functionality of child care centers. Additional funds and guidance could support the creation of developmentally appropriate learning environments, accessible spaces and features for children with diverse needs and facilities intended to withstand the effects of climate change. The allocation could be accomplished by expanding section 5.3.5 – Building and physical premises safety and supported through technical assistance to providers in Quality Set Aside funds.
2024 Policy Priorities
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To reduce financial burden of providers, we want trailer bill language clarifying that grants being provided through the Child Care and Development Infrastructure Grant Program are not taxable. Build Up California has heard from providers that some grant awards have resulted in large sums of owed taxes. Timeliness of payments from the state also may impose financial burdens on providers.
View our request letter for trailer bill language to address this issue here. For more information or to sign on, reach out to speyton@liifund.org.
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Build Up California is a proud member of the California Early Care and Education Coalition. We joined 35 other ECE advocacy groups in signing on to this year's letter to the state legislature. The letter urges Governor Gavin Newsom and the CA state legislature to maintain their promises to award and distribute ECE spaces appropriated in the previous budget year by June 30, 2024, and develop and implement an alternative rate methodology by June 30, 2024.
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The Infrastructure Grant Program has supported over 5,000 child care providers with grants totaling over $350 million to fund repair and renovation projects to expand and enhance both home-based and center-based childcare facilities. This funding, while a historically large state investment, still did not serve all applicants. In our letter, we urge the Legislature to maintain their commitment to distributing IGP Major Repair & New Construction grants to awarded providers and to add a one-time $50 million allocation to continue funding the IGP.
Sponsors: Assemblymember Calderon and Assemblymember Papan
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Child care providers know the impact climate change can have on their facilities, but finding public funding to build climate resiliency can be hard to find. AB 2732 would add a "child care provider" search category to www.grants.ca.gov to make this process easier, and better equip providers with the funds they need to protect their facilities and children against the effects of climate change.
Assembly Hearing Testimony
Shelly Masur, LIIF’s Vice President of ECE, Advisory and State Policy, testified at the Pre-K –12 Assembly Budget Committee hearing on April 24th. The selected topic was “Breaking Barriers to Access.”
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In the coming fiscal year, California is estimated to receive an increase of $76,850,822 in Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) funds, totaling over $830,350,950 for the three year grant cycle. Additionally, the recently released CCDF guidelines provide a change to the definition of minor repairs and renovations allowable under CCDF such that minor repairs are considered those that are up to $350,000 for child care centers and up to $50,000 for family child care homes, unless the renovation does not include structural changes or extensive alteration of the facility. To enhance the childcare landscape, we propose a strategic allocation of CCDF funds towards repair and renovation projects over the next three years (FY25-27). We believe this would improve the quality, safety, and accessibility of child care facilities in California, ultimately benefiting both children and providers.
As such, a CCDF allocation would enhance the physical environment of child care facilities to meet health, safety, and quality standards and improve the overall infrastructure and functionality of child care centers. Additional funds and guidance could support the creation of developmentally appropriate learning environments, accessible spaces and features for children with diverse needs and facilities intended to withstand the effects of climate change. The allocation could be accomplished by expanding section 5.3.5 – Building and physical premises safety and supported through technical assistance to providers in Quality Set Aside funds.