Early Childhood

Under 3 DC is a growing community of early childhood educators, child care program directors, health professionals, neighborhood-based organizations, nonprofit advocacy groups, business leaders, and parents working together as a coalition to ensure the Birth-to-Three For All DC law receives its full funding.

What is Birth-to-Three? 

The Birth-to-Three for All DC Act intends to create an accessible, comprehensive early education and care system for infants, toddlers, and their families. Including home visiting and child health and development programs in addition to early education, it seeks to address the District’s deep racial and economic disparities that remain present in early childhood. 

Birth-to-Three stipulates that no family should spend more than 10% of their income on child care and raises the income eligibility for child care assistance (vouchers), making child care more affordable. It also establishes a new compensation scale for early educators, including free health insurance, which creates a more stable, high-quality early childhood education sector by increasing workforce retention, which allows more parents to work and improved child outcomes. 

Join Under 3 DC 

Under 3 DC invites you to participate in a growing community of parents, early childhood educators, child care program directors, health professionals, neighborhood-based organizations, nonprofit advocacy groups, and business leaders working to build and sustain a system of equitable, high-quality early childhood education and care in the District of Columbia. 

To join the Under 3 DC Coalition, contact Kimberly Perry at kperry@dckids.org.