2020 legislative review
Rep . Tom Dent , R-Moses Lake , is ranking member of the House Human Services & Early Learning Committee .
Capital Budget Request $ 7.3 million request in the capital budget
Passed / AWB Supported
The Department of Commerce administered Early Learning Facilities Program supports early learning facilities and providers in Washington who benefit from the Early Childhood Education and Assistance ( ECEAP ) and Working Connections Child Care programs ( WCCC ). With over 60 % of Washington employees who have dependent children under the age of 6 living in child care deserts , it is critical that support for facilities be made available . The supplemental capital budget for 2020 initially provided $ 17.2 million in funding grants that were awarded to 39 early childhood learning providers . An AWB-supported additional $ 7.3 million in funding was awarded to support an additional 12 centers , early learning projects and technical assistance to ensure the state ’ s youngest learners have facilities and programs available to them .
Job Skills Program ( JSP ) $ 2.4 million request in the operating budget
Passed / AWB Supported
Since 1983 , the Job Skills Program ( JSP ) has funded customized training designed to meet the needs of business and industry and to provide or retain gainful employment opportunities for new hires and incumbent workers . JSP is a dollarfor-dollar matching grant program , and at least 50 % of training expenses are covered by the business through cash and / or in-kind payments . Businesses with reported gross business income of less than $ 500,000 are exempt from the dollar-for-dollar match . The Job Skills Program was funded at $ 5.45 million from the education legacy trust account for FY 2018 and FY 2019 of the biennium . This is a significant decrease in funding from a decade ago . The additional funding will be particularly useful in economic recovery efforts for the state . Supporting workers who have lost jobs due to the COVID-19 crisis will be critical to growing jobs and helping the economy recover .
22 association of washington business