KENT, Wash. — The state must reduce its budget by up to $3 billion by the end of June, which may include cuts to preschool programs for low-income and at-risk families.
On November 20, all state departments needed to submit plans to cut nonessential services. The Department of Youth, Children and Families proposed $119 Million in cuts, more than half of which comes from the suggestion to cut 1,800 slots in the Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP). DCYF also proposed eliminating the ECEAP birth-three-year-old program entirely.
Michelle Heertj, a mom of three boys in Auburn says, the programs were crucial for her middle son, Avery.
“They have helped my family tremendously to rise to the next level, get the support that we needed and to get the education we can need for our kids.” Heertj said.
Avery was diagnosed with the speech disorder Apraxia, one of the reasons he qualified for ECEAP. Last year, he was only speaking about five or ten words, using pointing and other signals to communicate with his parents. Heertj says the speech therapy he received five times a week through the birth-three program helped him prepare for preschool.
“Now he can have full conversations and he can even talk back. There has been so much change,” she said.
As he enters an ECEAP preschool this year, Michelle has watched her son grow in social situations she didn’t think was possible before.
“For the longest time he presented as so shy he almost presented as an introvert but ECEAP has really taken him out of his shell and given him the confidence he needed to really show up in the classroom.”
The news that so many cuts could come to the preschool slots was concerning for Michelle, as she hopes her youngest son can benefit from the program. It was “devastating” for her to hear the birth-three-year-old program could be nixed entirely.
“Early intervention really helps and works and I have seen it firsthand where he’s gone and how far he’s come,” Heertj said.
Griselda Osorio’s two daughters attended the ECEAP program in Kent before elementary school. She has similar reflections of the social connections her young ones built, but says, it allowed her the time to build her professional connections and build a career.
“For the parents, it’s an opportunity for them to actually work and find babysitters and there goes another out-of-pocket cost.”
Osorio says preschool outside of the ECEAP program was too expensive for her to swing, without having to get a third job to make ends meet. The community felt so strong when her daughters were enrolled, that she joined Kent Youth and Family Services as an educational aide earlier this year.
“Everybody isn’t as fortunate to have the things other families might have and the different services they provide are very helpful,” Osorio said.
The programs through ECEAP are “whole of family” focused, Teresa LaRonde said, who is the executive director of Kent Youth and Family Services.
LaRonde points to the medical and dental care provided for students, the nutrition programs for families that are part of ECEAP, as well as the mentorship and leadership training for parents who have children who are enrolled.
“If you are not able to provide for your family and then you have concerns and issues yourself, then you won’t be able to support your child in your education.”
90% of the families in LaRonde’s program are considered to be living in poverty, 11.3% are homeless, 75 percent are from BIPOC families, 86% are English language learners, and 17.9% have an individualized educational program. She says the programs target the kids and families who stand to benefit the most from the assistance.
“Research has shown that if they don’t have high-quality preschool programs, they will not succeed as well in school, there are more dropouts and fewer kids go to college,” LaRonde said, “If you put the money in now, then you’re not paying for social programs later, criminal justice programs later. It saves the state and taxpayers money.”
All departments in the state submitted the cuts they could make on November 20. The Governor’s Office will consider those cuts to inform its proposed budget and then in the spring, the state legislature will decide what gets cut and what will stay.