PRESS RELEASE

Long Beach, CA – The City of Long Beach, in partnership with the Mayor’s Fund for Education and Long Beach Unified School District (LBUSD), announced the investment of $600,000 toward the development of the Long Beach Early Childhood Education Infrastructure Hub (ECE Hub). The City’s investment will support the development of a new centralized electronic enrollment system for early childhood education. Through its investment, the City joins an innovative group of cities prioritizing access to childcare and quality early childhood education as a key component of their overall economic recovery.

“The Early Childhood Education Infrastructure Hub will do so much for our working families,” said Mayor Robert Garcia. “By increasing options and stabilizing the childcare industry, we’re investing in opportunities for young kids and helping more parents return to or remain in the workforce.”

The ECE Hub will be a coordinated access point for families seeking childcare, as well as a collaborative effort working to broaden options available to families and resources for childcare providers. The initial three primary components of the ECE Hub, supported by funding from the Long Beach Recovery Act, will include:

• Centralized enrollment
• Tuition support for families
• Childcare industry stabilization efforts

Both the ECE Hub’s enrollment infrastructure and tuition assistance will support the local workforce’s ability to return to work as both workers and childcare programs recover from COVID-19.

The Mayor’s Fund for Education is working in collaboration with LBUSD, the Long Beach Early Childhood Education Committee and the City’s Department of Health and Human Services ECE Program to develop and implement the ECE Hub, ensure community engagement, provide direct support to ECE providers, and amplify the Hub’s services throughout the City.

“The Mayor’s Fund for Education is very proud to partner with the City of Long Beach and LBUSD on the development of the new ECE Hub which will provide a significant steppingstone to collectively achieving Universal Preschool,” states Karissa Selvester, Mayor’s Fund for Education Executive Director. “Most importantly, we are focused on working with partners to increase access to high quality early childhood education and reducing barriers and burdens on families so all children can thrive.”

Development of the ECE Hub enables a mixed-delivery model of early education services which supports the sustainability of the essential early childhood industry and is a critical step to creating equitable access to high quality early care and education. The ECE Hub’s infrastructure will not only be capable of efficiently utilizing existing funding streams but will also have the potential to harness new funding as it becomes available.

“The Long Beach Unified School District is dedicated to working with partners to broaden opportunities and reduce barriers so that students of all ages have access to the services they need to succeed,” shares Dr. Jill Baker, Long Beach Unified School District Superintendent. “As we focus on the implementation of Universal Transitional Kindergarten, we look forward to working with the Mayor’s Fund for Education and our fellow local childcare providers on an approach that uplifts the entire early childhood education industry and expands quality early learning.”

It is anticipated that the enrollment system will begin a piloted roll out in early 2023. More information regarding the ECE Hub, including how families and providers can get involved, will be available later this year.

This program is consistent with Goals 2 and 6 of the City’s Early Childhood Education Strategic Plan regarding promoting partnerships to address access to quality basic needs services. The ECE Hub is made possible by the Long Beach Recovery Act, a plan to fund economic and public health initiatives for Long Beach residents, workers and businesses critically impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. More than $2 million dollars has been allocated to support early childhood education, childcare, and literacy development for residents adversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Additional information about the Long Beach Recovery Act is available at longbeach.gov/recovery.