Research:

• Inadequate funding causes too many children to “fall through the cracks.”   Children’s early years are the foundation for growth and development, and what they learn during those years depends on the experiences they have each and every day.   Our public schools will continue to bear the responsibilities and increasing costs of educating thousands of children who did not receive a Smart Start.   {Source:   2007-09 Smart Start Funding Request}
• Smart Start enhances economic development for NC. Without a strong early childhood system in NC, our economic and educational futures are in peril.   Businesses depend on having a highly skilled workforce and those workers depend on quality child care. {Source:   2007-09 Smart Start Funding Request}

Current Realities:

• Smart Start has a goal of full funding for the program ($350 million) by 2012. Currently, Smart Start is funded at 52% of that goal. To reach the goal, the request for funding for fiscal year 2007-08 is $ 44.7 million and $34.5 million for fiscal year 2008-09. {Source:   NC Child Care Coalition Jan 2007 Update #1}
• There has been the misconception that fully funding Smart Start would eliminate the unmet need.   The portion of the unmet need that is Smart Start’s funding goal is 25%.   (This was an arbitrary % since it was never envisioned that Smart Start would be able to meet the full unmet need.)   T he Smart Start goal is just a small part of the Total Statewide Need;   even if Smart Start were fully funded there remains a very large unmet need.
• Smart Start funding for Cumberland County meets 72% of the calculated need, which, if fully funded would only be 25% of the total cost of a comprehensive, high quality early childhood system.
• Dollars from current funding sources supporting More At Four at the LP, to include Smart Start, Smart Start-Other Income, the Department of Child Development, and the National Association of Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies [NACCRRA]-Army have been leveraged significantly in past years and in SFY 07-08.
• During years when Smart Start has not increased, additional funds have been allocated to support the More at Four program, thereby re-directing resources away from the birth to 3 year old population. When considering expansion at the current funding capacity, the Partnership cannot continue to increase the allocation support to the More at Four program without jeopardizing quality of services overall.
  • FY 03-04 $271,451
  • FY 04-05 $338,860
  • FY 05-06 $496,737
  • FY 06-07 $498,860
  • FY 07-08 $514,672
• Decreased funding from NACCRRA [Air Force & Army Grants] has created an even greater reduction in funds available for leveraging this fiscal year.
  • FY 05-06 $345,250
• FY 06-07 $331,000
• FY 07-08 $168,000
• The net effect is the diversion of funds from Smart Start resources serving the birth to 3 year old population to supporting the More at Four Pre-K Program.