The 2020 Minnesota state legislative session began on Tuesday. This is the second and shorter year of the biennium, when bonding and policy bills take priority over budget initiatives.
Of particular interest is HF 3701, which proposes a whopping $500 million for early childhood programs, including $190 million for birth-to-three early learning scholarships and $30 million for home visiting. As featured in past blogs, these two services have the best evidence-based results for actually reducing child maltreatment, and consequently the number of families that end up in child protection.
Due to its size, the full proposal will likely face some headwinds in the Senate. However Republicans have historically supported the early learning scholarship and home visiting components.
Our volunteers’ visits to their Representatives and Senators could make a difference here.