New Federal Relief Funding Resources
We're excited to share a new page on our website where you can access resources needed to navigate the $360 billion in federal relief funds allocated to children and youth, strategize on opportunities to use the additional $490 billion of broader federal relief funding for kids, and see the latest updated federal guidance.

These new resources include:


  • "COVID Relief Funding for Kids Crash Course" webinar and slides, a 30-minute crash course on the most important info from the above guide, breaking down the new federal funding streams and how to use them.

  • Official guidance from federal agencies on how to access and begin using the new dollars.

  • Coming soon! An FAQ document containing answers to questions we’re hearing from multiple states and communities about federal recovery funding. In the meantime, visit our Federal Recovery Funding Resources page to submit your own questions about the American Rescue Plan or other federal relief, and help us identify the field's most pressing queries!
This Month's Kids Funding Win
Washington state passed a new capital gains tax that will raise $415 million annually for K-12 education, early learning, and child care. The 7% tax will be applicable on the voluntary sale of stocks, bonds, and other capital assets that earn profits that exceed $250,000 for both individuals and couples.

Washington joins its neighbor, Oregon, as the first two states taxing corporate or capital gains for children and youth services outside of K-12 education. In 2019, Oregon passed the Student Success Act, a corporate activity tax that will raise $1 billion annually for early learning and K-12 education, with $200 million allocated to early learning specifically. Together, these two states are going to generate over $14 billion for children and youth in the next decade!
In Case You Missed It
Why cost modeling is important to us

In December 2019, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker established the Commission on Equitable Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC), which was tasked with making recommendations on improving the state's early childhood system. Kate Ritter, our early childhood advisor and cost modeling expert, was the coauthor of the cost modeling section. She helped determine both the overall cost and the cost per child to fully fund a high quality system of care and education for Illinois.

Currently, the state only funds 14% of what would be an adequate ECEC system, leaving a $10 billion gap in funding. With this knowledge, we look forward to Illinois taking the next steps to build a system where all children & youth thrive.
New website for local children's cabinets

The Local Children's Cabinet Network now has a website! The new hub offers tools & resources that both existing cabinets and interested communities can utilize. You'll also find upcoming events and opportunities to join the network, which is co-sponsored with the Harvard Graduate School of Education's Education ReDesign Lab and the Forum for Youth Investment.
What We're Reading

  • Amelia Vaughn, Senior Project Manager, has babies on the brain as she is expecting her first child in July! She is sharing this very clear resource from Zero to Three on how new federal relief funding from the ARPA is addressing the critical needs of our youngest population: American Rescue Plan Addresses 5 Critical Needs for Babies.

  • Olivia Allen, Strategy Director: Afterschool Alliance's America After 3pm report gives us an updated picture of families’ experiences with out-of-school time opportunities. Parents in 2020 face more barriers to their child’s after school participation than in 2014, whether that's because parents report that programs are too expensive (43% in 2014, 57% in 2020), that there's a lack of available programs (29% - 42%), or that there's no safe way to get their children to and from programs (39% - 53%). Concurrently, support for after school and summer programs is extremely strong and bipartisan, with large majorities in both parties supporting increased public funding for programs.

  • Kylie Wheeler, Project Manager: The American Rescue Plan presents both a great opportunity and a great challenge for states and communities to get the new federal funds out the door efficiently. One solution is for state and local governments to partner with intermediary organizations at the community level and entrust them with distribution of some of the new dollars. We love this new report from Center for American Progress, "Optimizing Distribution of American Rescue Plan Funds to Stabilize Child Care," as it lays out the potential pathways for communities to do so.
Finance Field Spotlight
How "outcomes financing" is changing the way we invest in children's services

Incoming federal stimulus funding and growing political momentum to increase economic mobility has created a historic opportunity for services that support children and families. To drive lasting results, dollars can be allocated towards outcomes-oriented initiatives that condition funding on measurable results. Outcomes financing has emerged as a promising way to fund what works to improve outcomes for marginalized communities. The Community Outcomes Fund at Maycomb Capital provides outcomes financing and develops outcomes financing projects (also known as Pay for Success) to expand high impact services. The Fund provides upfront working capital loans to operate services until outcomes are achieved, and the Fund forgives the balance of the loan if the outcomes fall short of expectations. The Fund has over $50M in capital and is actively looking for partners.

Contact Shelby Kohn at skohn@maycombcapital.com for more.