December 18, 2019
Dear Friends,
With just a few weeks remaining in this decade, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on 2019. This was quite a momentous year for the Louisiana Policy Institute beginning in February with our second Early Ed Week in six locations around the state of Louisiana for legislators and business leaders.
In April, I had the privilege of taking over as Executive Director from Melanie Bronfin. I honestly did not know I could have this much fun working, and it has been a joy to see the impact of our work on a daily basis. I am fortunate to work alongside an incredible team that includes our Board, coalition members from all across our state, business leaders, and advocates.
This past spring, during the 2019 Louisiana legislative session, our state made an
historic investment of $18.8 million
in new funding for early care and education. These dollars funded more than
1,400 new child care assistance seats
for low-income working parents to access subsidies for quality child care for their children. Furthermore, our advocacy efforts resulted in the state
expanding the Louisiana Early Childhood Education Trust Fund
and
increasing the state-to-local match for investment in early care and education
with new dedicated funding sources.