Pence signs bill that enables Pre-K pilot program

Joined by legislative leaders and the center’s students, the mood was celebratory as Pence gave his signature to the prekindergarten grant program.

“It’s a moment where we begin a new chapter of hope and opportunity in the lives of some of our most vulnerable children as Indiana for the first time ever will fund quality prekindergarten education, so low-income kids can start school ready to learn,” Pence said.

Pence said his hope is the state will initiate the pilot program in five Indiana counties within the next year.

Counties are already vying to run the pilot program, with Vanderburgh County “adamantly” expressing interest in being part of the pilot, said the bill’s author, Rep. Robert Behning, R-Indianapolis.

“One thing we want to make sure happens is diversity. We don’t want to have all urban counties,” Behning said. “We want to make sure we have urban, rural and suburban, so we get a real flavor of the difference it can make across the state.”

The state will provide $10 million for the pilot program and intends to raise as much as $5 million in private contributions to increase the number of children served. An estimated range of 1,000 to 4,000 Hoosier 4-year-olds could receive grants depending on the private dollars raised and the counties chosen for the pilot program.

No decision has been made on whether the program will eventually roll out to the entire state.

Focus now shifts to the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration, which is the agency responsible for running the program and choosing the five counties to offer the grants. Families earning as much as 127 percent of the federal poverty level, which for a family of four is approximately $30,000 per year, would be eligible to apply. Grants would range from $2,500 to $6,800 per child.

The state’s $10 million commitment could come from money the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration returns to the state general fund. Currently, the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration, along with other state agencies, returns 4.5 percent of its budget to the state general fund every year.

However earlier this month, Indiana Office of Management and Budget Director Chris Atkins said the state hadn’t ruled out tapping into federal dollars through the Child Care and Development Fund, which helps low-income families afford child care, to help fund the grant program. A study commission launched with the grant program will explore the feasibility of obtaining a federal block grant to financially support early childhood education in the state.

The state will need to look for long-term funding for the program, Behning said.

“I think long term it’s going to have to go somewhere else,” Behning said. “We can’t just depend on reversions to fund this. We’ll have to find a funding stream that will be permanent, long-term, and reversions is not going to be something we can count on.”