Division for Early Childhood Policy Update - Federal Funding for 2022 Finalized - March 2022
- Division for Early Childhood (DEC)
- Mar 23, 2022
- 3 min read
Updated: Aug 15, 2023
On March 15, 2022, President Biden signed the final FFY 2022 $1.5 trillion omnibus appropriation bill establishing specific funding levels for all federal programs. A fourth Continuing Resolution (CR) had been approved and was needed for a few extra days after the March 11th deadline to complete action on this 2,700-page bill.
This omnibus legislation increases domestic spending by approximately 7% or $730 million. National defense received about a 6% increase of $782 billion. The U.S. Department of Education received $76.4 billion, a $2.9 billion increase from 2021 and the largest increase in about ten years.
Overall, funding for domestic programs provides funding increases that are much smaller than the levels proposed by the President, passed by the House and included in the Senate Appropriations subcommittee. Specific funding levels for selected programs are below:
IDEA Part B 611 Grants to States
$13.3 billion, an increase of $406 million FFY 2021
Special Olympics education programs
$31 million, an increase of $7 million over FFY 2021
IDEA Part B Preschool Grants
$409.5 million, an $11.9 million increase over FFY2021
IDEA Part C Grants for Infants and Toddlers
$496.3 million, an increase of $14.5 million over FFY2021
IDEA Personnel Preparation
$95 million, an increase of $4.8 million over FFY 2021
Maternal and Child Health Block Grant
$748 million, an increase of $35 million over FFY 2021
Infant Early Childhood Mental Health
$10 million, an increase of $2 million over FFY2021
Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG)
$6.165 billion, an increase of $254 million over FFY2021
Head Start and Early Head Start
$11.037 Billion – an increase of $289 million over FY2021, of which $234 million is for a cost-of-living adjustment and $52 million is for quality improvement
Preschool Development Grant Birth Through Five (PDG B-5) program
$290 million, an increase of $15 million over FFY2021
Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act State Grants (CAPTA)
$95 million, an increase of $5 million over FFY 2021
Since the proposed $250 million increase was not allocated to Part C of IDEA, most of the expected Part C policy changes were also not included in the final bill. The required equity plan using 10% of each state’s federal allocation, the prohibition on family fees, and the eligibility provision requiring a two-year notice before restricting eligibility are not included. The proposed change related to transition from Part C to preschool special education was included in the final bill. The language is:
“Provided further, That, notwithstanding section 638 of the IDEA, a State may use funds it receives under section 633 of the IDEA to offer continued early intervention services to a child who previously received services under part C of the IDEA from age 3 until the beginning of the school year following the child’s third birthday with parental consent and without regard to the procedures in section 635(c) of the IDEA.”
The IDEA formula grants to Part B 611, Part B 619 and Part C funds from this FFY 2022 legislation will be allocated to states July 1, 2022.
The final bill also includes $14 billion in emergency aid to Ukraine. It also reauthorizes the Violence Against Women Act through 2027, providing resources for victims of domestic abuse and sexual violence. New provisions are included such as expanded access to forensic exams in rural communities; new grants for community-specific services for LGBTQ survivors of domestic violence; and new jurisdiction to tribal courts to go after non-Native perpetrators of sexual assault, child abuse, stalking, sex trafficking and assaults on tribal law enforcement officers on tribal lands.
Increases for COVID-19 response were dropped from the bill on the last day when agreement could not be reached on final provisions. As a result, any additional COVID-19 funding will need to be passed separately and will need revenue identified, generally called a “pay-for.”
The process for setting FFY 2023 funding levels for October 1, 2022 through September 30, 2023 is scheduled to begin on March 28th when the President is expected to release his budget for the year. This process is starting later this year with only six months available to complete final funding decisions before the October 1 deadline, when the FFY 2023 new fiscal year begins.
