2024-25 Proposed PA Budget Overview

The Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) has released highlights from the 2024-25 proposed Pennsylvania budget as they pertain to early childhood education professionals.

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The 2024-25 Governor’s Executive Budget includes a proposal to increase the state minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 per hour. 

 Proposed initiatives to increase rates for Child Care Works, Pre-K Counts and Head Start Supplemental Assistance Program are intended to provide increased funding to providers to support or enhance staff retention and recruitment efforts.  

Child Care

  • Child Care Services - increase of $29.33 million (total appropriation of $301.19 million)

    • to support subsidized child care services for low-income families.

  •  Child Care Assistance - increase of $2.37 million (total appropriation of $125.63 million)

    • to support subsidized child care services for families receiving TANF, Former TANF and SNAP benefits.    

 The 2024-25 proposed budget also includes an initiative to increase subsidy base rates to the 75th percentile of private pay rates based on the 2022 Market Rate Survey (MRS) results, effective January 1, 2025. The 2024-25 increased cost of this initiative is $62.5 million.     

Child Care Works (CCW)

CCW will be supported by federal funding sources including Child Care Development Block Grant, Social Service Block Grant and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.  In recent years, and in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government supplemented OCDEL funding through various grants. Remaining American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding will be expended by September 30, 2024. All program initiatives implemented with ARPA funds will remain in place and will be supported by existing state and federal funding sources. 

Early Childhood Education

  • PA Pre-K Counts - increase of $32.47 million (total appropriation of $334.76 million) 

    • $30 million to increase the cost per child from $10,000 to $11,000 for full time slots and from $5,000 to $5,500 for part time slots

    • $2.47 million to maintain all allocated slots and continue serving 30,479 children

  • Head Start Supplemental Assistance Program - increase of $2.7 million (total appropriation of $90.87 million) 

    • To allow for increased costs and continue serving 6,574 children

Evidence-Based Home Visiting and Family Supports

  • Community-Based Family Centers - level-funded (total appropriation $34.55 million)

  • Nurse Family Partnership - decrease of $70,000 (total appropriation of $14.04 million)

 Early Intervention

  • Early Intervention Birth-3 - increase of $16.664 million (total appropriation of $202.20 million)

    • to serve an estimated 54,200 children.

  • Preschool Early Intervention, 3-5 - increase of $17 million (total appropriation of $373.89 million)

    • to serve 69,800 children

For more details, view OCDEL’s full summary.

NewsHeidi Winkler