I remember sitting with my mom at the kitchen table learning how to balance a budget for a family. Those memories seem so distant! Now as an adult, I wonder how I'll ever make ends meet, now that child care costs more than college tuition in most states. [1]

MomsRising has been lifting the voices of mothers to urge the President to prioritize funding to make sure our littlest learners get the best start in school and life.  And we were heard!  President Obama released his federal budget proposal last week, which greatly expands funding for high quality early learning for babies, toddlers and pre-school kids.

But these investments will never become a reality if Congress does not include these proposals in its budget.   Congress needs to hear from you now that early learning is a priority for parents!

I'm ready for real change for kids and families to make high-quality early learning accessible for all! Help me tell Congress to fund the early learning proposals in the President's budget:

http://action.momsrising.org/go/4193

What exactly are the President's early learning proposals in his budget?

President Obama's budget would fund a major expansion of early learning across the U.S. which would include:

• Expanding acesss to high-quality preschool: Creates new federal-state partnerships that provide increased access to high-quality preschool for all low- and moderate- income four-year-olds while also expanding these programs to provide additional access for children from middle class families.
• Expanding high-quality early learning for babies and toddlers: Expands high-quality early learning programs for children (birth to age three) by investing in new partnerships between Early Head Start and child care providers.
• Expanding child care: Increases funding for child care, a key support for working parents.  Child care costs families thousands of dollars a year and without help, some parents can't afford to work.
• Increasing access to evidence-based, voluntary home visiting: Expands home visiting services to reach additional families in need. Home visiting is a critical and proven strategy that supports families in the earliest years of a child's life to improve a child's health, development, and educational outcomes.

Leading economists agree that investments in high-quality early learning programs like preschool actually save future dollars [2], but we also know that children who have high-quality early learning experiences are more likely to succeed in school, graduate from high school, gain stable employment, and are less likely to be arrested. [3] Yet, only 3 in 10 children have access to high-quality preschool opportunities. [4]

Join us and send a message to Congress that we need them to fund the early childhood education proposals in the President's budget:
http://action.momsrising.org/go/4193