Over the past few years, it’s become clear that states need more money to support kids. Pandemic-related aid is long gone, but effects from that era still linger, evident in persistent child care shortages and ongoing child behavioral and mental health concerns. Now, states are increasingly trying to generate new sources of money to support young children, although in at least one state, a ballot measure was designed to pull back on just these kinds of efforts.
To get the money they need to address these issues, at least 10 measures were on ballots across the country Tuesday, proposing tax increases or new revenue streams to pay for child care and other child-focused services. Voters overwhelmingly chose to maintain or increase spending on these initiatives — though there were some holdouts.
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Here’s a look at how early childhood fared this election: (This story will be updated as vote tallies are finalized.)
Child care:
❌ Washington state: Initiative 2109 aimed to repeal a capital gains tax that passed in 2021 and has since provided child care subsidies and money for select child care programs. By failing, the tax and funding stream for child care will remain in place. FAILED
✅ Travis County, Texas: Proposition A called for a property tax increase to raise more than $75 million to create affordable child care spots and mitigate the loss of federal pandemic funds for local child care programs. PASSED
❌ St. Paul, Minnesota: The 2024 Early Care and Learning Proposal is a property tax levy aimed at providing public funding to child care. The city would raise $2 million the first year and add an additional $2 million each year until year 10, with this money going into a special early care and education fund that would help families cover the cost of child care. (The city’s mayor, Melvin Carter, said he was unlikely to enact the tax if it passed). FAILED
Sonoma County, California: Measure I asked voters to approve a quarter-cent countywide sales tax to create a local revenue stream that would help pay for child care and children’s health programs, with a special emphasis on children who experience homelessness. The initiative gained over 20,000 signatures from registered voters to qualify for the November ballot. LIKELY TO PASS
✅ La Plata County, Colorado: Ballot Issue 1A will redirect up to 70 percent of revenue from a lodger’s tax toward child care and affordable housing. PASSED
✅ Grand County, Colorado: Ballot Measure 1A will increase the county’s lodging tax from 1.8 percent to 2 percent, with the revenue paying for tourism, housing and child care. PASSED
Related: What convinces voters to raise taxes: child care
Early childhood Health, education and well-being:
✅ Platte County, Missouri: The Platte County Children’s Services Fund measure calls for a quarter cent sales tax increase to create a revenue stream for mental health programs, including early childhood screening. PASSED
Pomona County, California: Measure Y aims to reallocate at least 10 percent of funds in an existing city general fund to create a Department of Children and Youth. The funds would also be used to pay for youth programs, child care and support for parents. LIKELY TO PASS
Santa Cruz, California: Measure Z proposed a $0.02 per ounce tax on sugar-sweetened beverages to raise funds that can be used for youth mental health and programs for children. LIKELY TO PASS
✅ Colorado: Proposition KK aims to establish a $39 million fund by imposing a 6.5 percent excise tax on guns and ammunition. While most of the money is directed at crime victim and veterans mental health services, $3 million will fund behavioral health services for children. PASSED
❌ Missouri: Amendment 5 would have established a new gambling boat license, with the estimated $14 million in revenue funding public school early childhood literacy programs. FAILED
✅ Nevada: Question 5 on the ballot this year gave voters the chance to exempt diapers from sales tax, starting on January 1, 2025. PASSED
Related: Her child care center was already on the brink — then coronavirus struck
Contact staff writer Jackie Mader at (212) 678-3562 or mader@hechingerreport.org.
This story about ballot measures for child services was produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education, with support from the Spencer Fellowship at Columbia Journalism School. Sign up for the Early Childhood newsletter.
