Gov. Glenn Youngkin is proposing that Virginia invest more than $440 million a year in state resources over the next two years to fund a new initiative that he hopes will empower families with child care choices, expand available child care options, reduce red tape and provide needed support for parents to continue in the workforce.
“It’s not time to be timid, it’s time to be bold,” Youngkin said at his administration’s rollout of the so-called Building Blocks for Virginia Families initiative in Richmond on Thursday. “It’s time to chart a course that in fact addresses one of the most vexing challenges today, one of the most vexing challenges that I believe stands in the way of a brighter future for all Virginians.”
The investment would be an increase of $180 million per year over current funding, Youngkin said. Also part of the initiative is a new $25 million capital fund aimed at reducing child care deserts. “My aspiration is that we can create through this fund capacity for 300,000 children,” Youngkin said.
The commonwealth would use as a blueprint a project in Abingdon that aims to redevelop a former Kmart building into a child development and workforce hub with the help of a $5 million state grant.
“Our aspiration is truly to follow the great leadership out of Southwest Virginia that came together with public and private resources to renovate a building that was no longer being used and transform it into a hub of both childcare opportunity and workforce development,” Youngkin said. The Abingdon model, he added, is one that “can be replicated across the commonwealth in those areas that need it most.”
The Building Blocks for Virginia Families initiative aims to step in after the funding provided by the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act that was used to expand child care and early education programs during and in the immediate aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic is set to expire next year. To date, Virginia has used $794 million in federal dollars for this purpose.
The expiration of federal funding puts 27,000 children in Virginia at risk of losing access to quality care, according to data provided by the administration Thursday.
“The reality is, that wasn’t sustainable, and in March 2024, without significant reforms to improve the long-term viability of our child care programs, we would otherwise see children simply being kicked out of these most important collaborations that enable families to realize their dreams,” Youngkin said. “We can’t leave families and their children without options.”
The governor’s initiative also creates a so-called digital wallet — a child care payment system driven by parents aimed at making it easier for stakeholders to contribute and support the success of Virginia’s early learners.
“Virginia will be first in the nation to offer a statewide digital wallet platform to enable local governments, lawyers, philanthropy and others who will contribute to this great need,” Youngkin said. “Every family will get a digital wallet, and the platform will make it easier for them to find care and direct care to where it fits their family the best.”
Building Blocks for Virginia Families further seeks to reduce shortages of child care educators by maintaining a $1 million scholarship program to increase the skills of Virginia’s early education workforce and $10 million per year for direct-to-educator incentives that have been shown to reduce teacher shortages and increase educator retention in child care.
“We know that teachers matter, and we know that we don’t have enough,” Youngkin said, adding that the initiative would help “attract and retain top-notch teachers.”
The recommendations for the plan were made by a commission staffed by the Virginia Early Childhood Foundation, which also incorporated findings from a recent Vanderbilt University study that found a significant return on the learning investments from Virginia’s early childhood programs.
Morgan Hopkins, a spokeswoman for the House Democratic caucus, said in a text message Thursday that each study by the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission this year has shown that children’s education has been “woefully underfunded.”
“Virginia has been able to make great strides in early childhood education under the leadership of Governor Northam and with investment from the Biden Administration,” Hopkins said. “House Democrats have continuously emphasized the need to prioritize funding for our students, our teachers and especially early childhood education, and we look forward to doing just that in the majority next session.”
The funding for the Building Blocks for Virginia Families initiative will be part of Youngkin’s proposal for Virginia’s next biennial budget, which he is expected to introduce Dec. 20.