School Readiness in Florida: How We Can Close the Gaps

Ensuring Florida’s working families have access to affordable, quality child care is essential to bolstering our workforce and strengthening Florida’s economy. The Florida Chamber Foundation’s policy research report, School Readiness in Florida: How We Can Close the Gaps, examines the case for State Median Income in Child Care Tuition Assistance Eligibility. This change will ensure that more Florida families can access the early childhood education they need.

Read the full report below:

Key findings on the need to expand Florida’s School Readiness program eligibility:

• Florida’s Working Families Are Struggling to Access Affordable Child Care:
  • Child care costs are the number one reason why working parents in Florida with children under six years old quit their jobs.
  • 281,621 Floridians reported not working in the past year to take care of a child, exacerbating the state’s talent shortage, where only about 90 Floridians are looking for work for every 100 open jobs.
  • Under the current system, Florida’s School Readiness program limits eligibility to families earning up to 150% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL). For a family of four, this amounts to an annual income of $46,800. However, this threshold excludes many working families struggling with rising living costs.
• Shifting Eligibility to State Median Income: A Solution for More Families:
  • Shifting eligibility from Federal Poverty Level to State Median Income would ensure families earning slightly above the Federal Poverty Level, but still facing financial challenges, have access to child care assistance.
  • Research shows that child care costs consume 20-30% of household income in Florida, which exceeds the cost of in-state college tuition by nearly $8,400 annually.
  • By setting eligibility at 65% of the State Median Income, 72,000 additional families could qualify for the program, and it is estimated that 15,840 of those families would participate, benefiting 27,500 children in early learning programs.
• Expanding Access to Support Florida’s Future Workforce:
  • Expanding the eligibility for School Readiness aligns with Florida’s broader economic goals by ensuring all children receive the early learning opportunities they need.
  • By shifting to State Median Income as the eligibility threshold, we can provide essential support for families, help reduce childhood poverty, and set Florida’s children on the path to success.

For questions about this report or to learn more about the Florida Chamber Foundation’s ongoing efforts to improve early learning outcomes in Florida, contact Makayla Buchanan at mbuchanan@flchamber.com

A special thanks to the Florida Chamber Foundation’s Business Alliance for Early Learning Advisory Board for driving our mission forward. To support the Florida Chamber Foundation’s ongoing efforts to advance progress towards our Florida 2030 Blueprint goals, please contact Makayla Buchanan, Director of Early Learning and Literacy, at mbuchanan@flchamber.com

There’s more to discover from the Florida Chamber Foundation. We invite you to explore our other resources and tools below:

• Register for the 2025 Florida Learners to Earners Workforce Solution Summit to join us in building America’s best workforce in Florida REGISTER NOW>
• TheFloridaScorecard.org – view hundreds of state and county level metrics reflecting Florida’s economic progress in becoming a top 10 global economy by 2030
• View other Florida Chamber Foundation Research HERE>