Sign In
Free Newsletter
Past elections a bad omen for First Things First sweep
An early childhood development program is back in the Legislature’s crosshairs, five years after lawmakers and former Gov. Jan Brewer tried and failed to convince voters to abolish the program and use its funding to balance the state’s precarious budget.
Transfer from KidsCare left 14,000 Arizona children in an insurance gap
Finding stable and affordable health care insurance remains a struggle for working poor Arizona families who make too much to qualify for the state’s Medicaid program, but too little to afford private insurance.
Lawmaker targets early childhood education money to fund CPS
A senior Republican legislator wants to use tobacco-tax dollars to help fund the embattled Child Protective Services, which was recently rocked by revelations that it ignored more than 6,000 cases of abuse and neglect over several years.
Fresh out of budget solutions, lawmakers warm up to trickery
Weary of scrounging for solutions to a relentless financial mess, some Arizona lawmakers have changed from criticizing budget gimmicks to shrugging and accepting probably the most blatant one of all.
Early childhood agency amenable to Brewer’s loan proposal
Officials at the state agency devoted to early childhood development are studying the governor’s proposal to borrow $330 million for one day and use the money to balance the state’s budget shortfall.
Antenori: Don’t think I forgot about APS
Kavanagh isn’t the only legislator with a bone to pick with a group that opposed the Prop 302 repeal of First Things First. To read more on this item plus... […]
Could you spare a billion dimes?
Ninth Floor staff and First Things First are quietly kicking around ideas for how the agency can help alleviate the budget crunch. The options, however, appear limited.
Brewer, First Things First discussing budget solutions
Proposition 302 is history and a loan is off the table, but First Things First and the Governor's Office are looking for "creative" solutions the agency can offer for the state's budget crunch.
Kavanagh bill targets ASBA’s district fees, politicking
Rep. John Kavanagh, who backed this year's ballot measure to sweep hundreds of millions of dollars from a childhood development agency, has a message for an education group that opposed the effort: You don’t kick a hornet’s nest without risking a sting.
Retired police chiefs: First Things First reduces crime down the road
Helping at-risk children develop social skills and the ability to learn before they enter school prevents crime in the long run, retired Mesa Police Chief Dennis Donna said Monday.
Poll shows voters want to keep FTF
A new poll shows majority support among likely voters to retain an early childhood development program whose revenues are targeted by the Legislature.
First Things First flush with cash — for now
When lawmakers voted in March to put the referendum on the ballot — a measure that would sweep and dismantle the Early Childhood Development and Health Board Fund — they expected it to put about $325 million into the state’s cash-starved coffers. But as of Sept. 1, the agency had about $100 million more than that on hand.
