2023 Fair Start for Kids Act Evaluation Report
The Fair Start for Kids Act (FSKA) is historic legislation signed by Governor Inslee in 2021, investing $1.1 billion to make early care and education (ECE) more affordable for families and to provide resources to support the ECE workforce.
The Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) administers the FSKA. The four policy objectives of the FSKA are to:
- Advance racial equity
- Expand access to ECE
- Promote kindergarten readiness
- Stabilize the ECE workforce
The Office of Innovation, Alignment, and Accountability (OIAA) produced the FSKA evaluation report, which includes outcome analysis for each FSKA policy objective: https://www.dcyf.wa.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/reports/FSKA-EvalReport-2023.pdf.
Overall, OIAA found evidence that FSKA targeted investments have helped to stabilize the licensed child care and early learning system in Washington, with a stronger positive effect in communities identified as high priority. This is the first of what will be a regular report, with the next report anticipated to be published in September 2025. In the interim, OIAA plans to externally report supplemental analyses and data on the DCYF website.
OIAA wants to thank our early learning partners and stakeholders who provided valuable input and expertise that helped enhance the FSKA evaluation. Please contact OIAA at dcyf.oiaarequest@dcyf.wa.gov with any questions.