Dear Secretary Sullivan:

We write to you today on behalf of the Early Education Works coalition, a community of advocates for Indiana’s early care and education sector. Our coalition is encouraged that the state will sustain its investments in the On My Way Pre-K program for the next biennium. As FSSA works to augment state investments with federal funding, we stand willing to partner with your office to maximize the impact of federal dollars on Indiana’s early care and education sector.

We were pleased to see that OECOSL’s spending plan for CRRSA relief was clearly outlined and provided direction on how to best leverage federal funds in tandem with Indiana’s existing investments in early care and education. We were also encouraged by the addition of criteria that expanded eligibility to individuals seeking employment – a qualifying activity that we recommend the state preserve long-term. As the state continues to collaborate with the federal government to develop a spending plan for relevant funds appropriated under the America Rescue Plan, we stand ready to partner with OECOSL to:

1. Improve quality instruction alongside efforts to scale up access to early care and education. Indiana has made significant progress in increasing the number of high-quality providers, but the impacts of COVID-19 threaten to stall our momentum. As of June 2020, the Early Learning Advisory Committee (ELAC) reported a decrease in the number of early care and education programs at all levels of PTQ, including high-quality programs at Level 3 and Level 4. We have an opportunity to leverage federal funds to not only stabilize the state’s fragile early care and education ecosystem, but also build the capacity and quality of the sector.

2. Implement strategies to attract, develop and retain the early care and education talent pool. In addition to the use of tax credits for child care workers, we agree with ELAC’s recommendation that the state consider amending the Governor’s Next Level Jobs initiative to expand eligibility for Workforce Development Grants to individuals seeking to enter the early care and education workforce. We endorse using federal dollars to enable early learning providers to attract high-caliber candidates through competitive compensation rates and the creation of meaningful career pathways.

3. Position investments in early care and education as a long-term strategy for economic growth in Indiana. We encourage the state to leverage American Rescue Plan dollars to transform the early care and education sector in a sustainable way. This will bolster the current workforce and set the next generation of talent up for success in work and life.

We thank your office’s efforts to support Indiana’s early care and education sector through this unprecedented era. As we emerge from the pandemic, we are confident that the measures outlined above will enable the state’s early care and education sector to come back stronger than ever before.

Sincerely,

Jennica Adkins, Assistant Principal, Bethel Park Elementary/ECE

Madeleine Baker, Chief Executive Officer, Early Childhood Alliance

Patricia (Pat) Heiny, Co-chair, Early Childhood Coalition for Wayne County Kids

Maureen Weber, President & Chief Executive Officer, Early Learning Indiana

Tara Barney, Co-CEO, Evansville Regional Economic Partnership

Michael Huber, President/CEO, Indy Chamber

Megan McKinney Cooper, Communications Director, Jump IN for Healthy Kids

Mary Gardner, Director of Regional Impact, Indianapolis, Leadership for Educational Equity

Steven Ramos, President, LeafSpring School at Geist

Sarah Williams, Director of Public Policy and Advocacy, MCCOY (Marion County Commission on Youth, Inc.)

John Peirce, Consultant, Peirce Consulting LLC

Jacob Allen, CEO, pilotED Schools

Jacob Peters, Assistant Principal, pilotED Schools

Lauren Hall, School Administrator, Educator, Research, pilotED Schools, VOICES & New America

Connie Bond Stuart, Regional President, Central and Southern Indiana, PNC Bank

Amy Lore, Director of Government Relations, Project Lead The Way, Inc .

Kate Lee, Executive Director, Education & Workforce, South Bend Regional Chamber

Constance Sherman, Executive Director, Education & Workforce, St. Mary's Child Center

Andrew Goebel, Volunteer Member, SW Indiana Business Roundtable for Early Learning

Rachel Hathaway, Indiana Executive Director, Teach Plus

Cheri Stone, Community Impact Director, United Way of Bartholomew County

Ann Murtlow, President & CEO, United Way of Central Indiana

Emily Rupchock, Director of Early Learning Partnerships, United Way of St. Joseph County

Tamara Brinkman, President, United Way Whitewater Valley