Virginia education official says governor's budget and policy levers could clear 7,000 early-childhood slots

Jenna Conway, deputy superintendent for early childhood care and education at the Virginia Department of Education, told the House Appropriations Committee the governor’s proposed budget and four policy levers recommended by the Commission on Early Childhood could bring roughly 7,000 birth-to-5 children off state wait lists using funds already in the FY 2026 baseline.

Conway said the Commonwealth is seeing very high enrollment in the three state-funded early childhood programs — the Child Care Subsidy program, the mixed-delivery program and the Virginia Preschool Initiative (VPI) — and significant unmet need, especially for infants and toddlers. She reported more than 8,700 children on the birth-to-5 wait list for child care subsidy and an additional about 1,300 on the mixed-delivery wait list; the appendices referenced in the presentation show a total wait list just under 12,600 across programs and localities that currently maintain lists.

Conway outlined key elements of the governor’s proposed early-childhood package. The administration characterizes the one-year state investment as about $462 million. The proposal would: - Use the four policy levers recommended by the Commission on Early Childhood (revising co-payments, work-search limits, attendance policy and other program parameters) to free slots that could serve an estimated 7,000 birth-to-5 children with existing state dollars. - Provide a one-time $15 million to retrofit or increase local supply in…