Governor Proposes $10M in New Recruitment & Retention Funds
On Tuesday, Governor Shapiro shared his FY 2026-2027 budget priorities duiring a joint session of the Pennsylvania General Assembly. The package totals $53.2 billion, an increase over the $50.1 billion FY 2025-2026 passed after a prolonged budget impasse that lasted nearly 4.5 months ending November 12, 2025. The Governor noted in his budget address, "Last year, we all identified a problem — we don’t have enough child care workers, and that’s because we don’t pay them enough" and proposed to expand the Child Care Recruitment and Retention Program by $10 million for a total investment of $35 million. This increase would raise awards from $450 to $630. Over 4,300 programs have applied so far for the awards,
Proposed New Child Care Investments: $13.8 Million
- Child Care Recruitment & Retention: $10.0M -- would increase awards from $450 to $630
- Child Care Services (to support minimum wage to $15/hr): $2.2M
- Child Care Assistance (to support minimum wage+ cost sharing): $1.6M
- Pre-K Counts: $7.5M increase – projected to raise rates to $11,000 (up from $10,750) and part-time students’ rates to $5,500 (up from $5,375)
- Head Start Supplemental Assistance: $2.2M increase – projected to raise per-child rate will be increased from $13,824 to $14,128