Louisiana task force reviews draft funding formula to expand early childhood access, address childcare deserts and special-needs supports

The Early Childhood Care and Education Commission task force met to review a draft funding model intended to guide long‑term expansion of early childhood services in Louisiana.

“I am Karen Howe, deputy assistant superintendent for the office of early childhood care and education here at the Louisiana Department of Education,” said Karen Howe as she opened the meeting. Abby McCartney, senior director at Affton Partners, presented an early Excel tool the firm developed with the Department to test scenarios for a funding formula.

The draft is modeled in part on the state’s K‑12 Minimum Foundation Program (MFP) approach — starting from a base per‑child cost, applying weights for higher needs and then estimating local and state shares — but the presenters and task force members emphasized early childhood differs substantially from K‑12 in delivery, hours of care and funding recipients. “We’ve been working with the department and, other folks in you all, across the state for a little over a year, working through this idea of a funding formula for early childhood,” McCartney said.

Why it matters: the tool is meant to produce a statewide funding target and to identify where a next dollar should go — for example, whether to prioritize infants, rural “childcare deserts,” children with disabilities, or educator compensation. Task force members repeatedly raised questions about how the model treats part‑time versus full‑time slots, how it would detect children using multiple programs, and how to pair formula funding…