Submit a letter to editor to local newspapers, both large and small, about the importance of sustaining and maintaining funding for early childhood programs by using this template. Please make sure to refer to the state by state chart on the total number of children at risk for losing child care slots to tailor this letter for your state.
Check out a great example of a letter to the editor published in the Miami Herald by The Children's Trust.
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Dear Editor,
Despite two decades of compelling research that shows investing in quality early education yields impressive returns in education, health and economic prosperity, more than 300,000 of the nation’s most vulnerable infants, toddlers and preschoolers may soon be stripped of early learning services. Here in [state], it could mean the loss of as many as [Column “E”] Head Start slots, [Column “D”] Early Head Start slots and [Column “G”] child care slots. Not only would that wipe out what modest gains have been made in recent years, the ripple effects on teachers, working parents would be felt immediately and the damage – on educational success, on local crime, on a prepared workforce – could extend years.
U.S. Senators are working to pass a counterpart bill to the devastating one proposed recently in the House, and that bill must at least maintain modest gains made in recent years in critical federal programs and support locally-run organizations.
Yes, it’s time to budget responsibly, the way families budget. Most families do that by putting the well-being of their children first. Congress should follow suit. In the quest to cut deficits, we cannot sacrifice the next generation in the hopes of saving them.
Sincerely,
[Name/Organization]
[Address/Location]