Smart Start Georgia is a statewide organization partnering to improve the quality of care and education for all children ages birth through five by:
collaborating with State and Federal government and early learning experts in communities throughout Georgia; educating parents, caregivers, and the public on the critical need for quality early learning for all children; and promoting lifetime lear

The mission of the PHCCPA is to support all facets of home-based child care, to educate child care providers, as well as parents and other interested persons and to take an active role in all issues that affect the quality of child care and advocate for children in Pennsylvania.

Today, President Bush submits his FY2006 budget proposal to Congress. The administration has said it plans to halve the deficit within five years, despite declining federal revenues. In his State of the Union address, the president called for cutting or eliminating 150 domestic government programs—among them anti-poverty programs like housing, food stamps and Medicaid. Children's advocates are also watching for cuts to USDA food and nutrition services. Concerned adults can use President Bush's FY2006 budget as common ground to jump start discussion about public service programs, and how America might balance federal spending and deficit reduction.

The Coalition on Human Needs' Opportunity For All Campaign examines the budget from a community advocacy standpoint.

America's Second Harvest and the Food Research and Action Center offer information and action steps on the FY2006 budget.

When politicians talk about after-school programs, they typically tout their impact on academic achievement -- but many kids and parents say they're more interested in fun programs that develop hobbies and skills and reinforce values. Low-income and minority parents are considerably more likely to want activities that help their children in school. These same parents say it's hard to find high-quality, convenient and affordable activities. Parents of all backgrounds said the hardest of all is finding opportunities for teenagers, especially during the summer.

Nonprofit and non-partisan, Voices for Virginia's Children is a persistent voice of reason in advocating for better lives and futures for children. The Commonwealth's only statewide multi-issue organization advocating for children and youth, Voices promotes sound, far-reaching program and policy solutions, focusing on early care and education, health care, family economic success, and foster care and adoption.

Voices for Utah Children promotes sound, far reaching program and policy solutions that focus on early care and education, health care, child welfare and violence prevention.

The Mississippi Forum on Children and Families provides community resource development through information, education, and training. The Forum is using education, research, and demonstration in the areas of early childhood education and care, child health, youth development, employment preparation and family support. The Forum has four primary objectives:

Establishment of quality programs
Distribution of information

The Afterschool Investments project -- supported by the Child Care Bureau -- has developed state profiles of before-school, after-school and summer programs in every state. These and other resources for policymakers, administrators, and program providers are available online.

Advocates often note that high-quality, comprehensive early childhood development programs are cost-effective in boosting outcomes for children. New data from the Economic Policy Institute offers proof. According to this report, investments in these programs would pay for themselves in 17 years and, in 30 years, would give taxpayers a $2 savings for every $1 invested. Within 25 years, the offsetting budget savings for all levels of government combined would reach $31 billion.

This Northwest Finance Circle Toolkit gives child care centers an accounting outline to calculate the true cost of quality budgets. Even if the budget is beyond the reach of what parents can pay, it can be used to demonstrate the gap between the true cost of high quality programs and the actual price parents are charged for services.