We're excited to share new early childhood-focused findings from our national poll, co-commissioned with the Children's Funding Accelerator, and our analysis of 56 other state, local, and national polls. Together, these findings show that voters believe that state and local governments have a responsibility to ensure that all infants and toddlers have opportunities for a strong start in life.

You can find the answers to the following questions and more in our new infographic.

For more materials from our national poll, see our full suite here.

In November 2018, 62% of voters in Oakland, CA, supported a new parcel tax to fund education and career readiness programs for children and youth. However, following the election one opposing group filed a lawsuit claiming that the measure required a two-thirds supermajority (66.67%) approval. After years of rulings and appeals, the California Court of Appeal overruled a decision of the lower court and said the measure had passed with a simple majority!

The measure will now raise $30 million annually through a parcel tax of $198 per parcel (with exemptions for low-income households). A parcel tax is a type of property tax that is charged per parcel rather than on the assessed value of the property. Two-thirds of the funds will go to early care and education and one-third will go to college readiness.

See here to learn more about the measure.

In our most recent webinar, we introduced the newest updates to our popular American Rescue Plan tool, including dozens of examples of how states and communities are creatively using their recovery dollars for children and youth.

This section, which we will continue to update regularly, can be sorted by funding streams, age groups, and focus areas. We hope it will inspire your communities with ideas about how best to fund our kids!

See our updated web tool here (on page 6).

See the webinar recording here.

Looking for a deeper dive into how cities and counties are using funds from the American Rescue Plan and other federal COVID-relief programs for an equitable and efficient recovery? Our new blog series will highlight three communities using federal relief funding from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and the American Rescue Plan to navigate this transition from reaction to recovery.

Read the introductory blog post here.

Read the Larimer County, CO blog post here.

Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up for our mailing list here.