Advocates for children in Pennsylvania are expressing some concern over the Republican-sponsored budget proposal that cleared the state House last week.
Advocates with PA Partnerships for Children say they are pleased the GOP-backed budget plan preserves Democratic Governor Tom Wolf’s proposal for a $100 million dollar increase in basic education funding, however the House plan only allots an increase of $25 million for pre-k programs, where the governor asked for 75 million.
President Joan Benso says the Republican budget also cuts $28 million from state-subsidized child care programs.
“When families don’t get subsidized child care they have very few options. They either leave their children potentially in unreliable and sometimes unsafe care, or they are unable to go to work,” she said.
Benso acknowledges it is still early days for the budget and says she hopes some of the proposed cuts can be restored by the June 30th deadline.