(Credit and Caption for Photo: <p>Pennsylvania’s new budget preserves universal free school breakfast with an additional $14.3 million, a move child advocates said will boost students’ health and academic performance. (Adobe Stock)</p>)

(Reported by Danielle Smith, Keystone News Service)

(Harrisburg, PA) Pennsylvania’s bipartisan budget takes a few small steps forward in addressing early childcare and education but still falls short, according to Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children. The fifty-point-eight-billion-dollar spending plan contains modest investments in programs for kids and families. The Partnership’s Kari King says they appreciate the support, but notes lawmakers leaned on leftover funds instead of new revenue. King says in early education, the governor proposed nine point five million dollars for Pre-K Counts and Head Start, but the funding target wasn’t reached. King says the budget includes an additional five million for the childcare recruitment and retention fund, which provides bonuses to childcare staff and programs. That investment is seen as vital as the commonwealth addresses a staffing crisis, which puts pressure on the workforce and the overall economy.