According to the report, reading proficiency in the early grades lays an essential foundation for acquiring the knowledge and skills required to succeed in school and the workplace. To improve grade-level reading proficiency, state and local leaders have been seeking effective strategies to use, but find the current policy and funding environment challenging to navigate. Deficit reduction is a predominant theme when discussing funding priorities, and public budgets at all levels of government are becoming increasingly strained. With federal stimulus money being phased out and state tax receipts just beginning to recover from the steep economic downturn, governors, mayors and legislatures have little to no choice but to make painful cuts to balance their budgets.

Effectively tapping federal funding sources and knowing how to make the best use of these resources requires knowledge of what programs exist, who is eligible to receive funds, how funds can be used, and how easily funds can be coordinated or combined with other public and private sources of revenue. That is why the Annie E. Casey Foundation invited The Finance Project to develop an accessible, comprehensive guide to federal funding that can support programs to promote grade-level reading proficiency. LEARNING TO READ: A Guide to Federal Funding for Grade-Level Reading Proficiency provides information on 103 federal sources across seven cabinet-level departments and three independent agencies that can help fund investments in early literacy programs and infrastructure.

To read the complete guide, CLICK HERE.

Source: The Finance Project