Hawaiʻi Early Childhood Advocacy Alliance

The Hawaiʻi Early Childhood Advocacy Alliance (HECAA) is a collaboration of individuals and organizations from the public and private sectors. HECAA strengthens advocacy efforts to ensure all children have equitable access to affordable, culturally reflective, high-quality early learning. Supporting young keiki also means supporting families and the early learning professionals who care for and educate them.

Preschool Open Doors

Hawai‘iʻs high cost of living makes it extremely challenging for working families with young children. Affordable housing and affordable child care top the list of expenses. In fact, child care is the second largest expense after housing. This is especially critical for a third of Hawai‘iʻs households who are ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) families.

Preschool Open Doors – A Solution to Support Families

Allowing families to receive financial support for early learning for two-year-olds until they are ready to enter kindergarten will provide welcome financial relief, support families, and support local businesses. Preschool Open Doors gives keiki a strong foundation in their education to set them on a positive trajectory.

Making Early Learning More Accessible

The State has made significant strides to expand access to early learning with public pre-kindergarten, which currently serves about 12% of Hawai‘i‘s three- and four-year old keiki. Community based programs still serve over 75% of Hawai‘i’s three- and four-year-olds, and 100% of children under three years old in a formal setting. Expanding Preschool Open Doors will make early learning more accessible and affordable for Hawai‘i families.

It is also important to note that many working families need access to full-day care. Community-based programs operate full days throughout the year, while public pre-kindergarten may have set hours operating for nine months of the year.

Early Learning Apprenticeships

Hawaiʻi faces critical shortages of early learning professionals. Recruitment and retention of these professionals can be difficult because of low wages. Apprenticeships offer higher pay and on-the-job training while improving the quality of early learning programs.

A state grant program would remove financial barriers for early learning center employers to participate in this valuable program, raising wages for existing staff, and ensuring that Hawaiʻi’s children, families, and businesses benefit from a stronger, more sustainable early learning workforce.

Earn While They Learn

Early Learning Apprenticeship Programs are a structured, hands-on training model designed to help individuals gain the skills and knowledge needed to work in early learning programs. The on-the-job experience with classroom learning allows participants to earn while they learn and develop expertise in child development and learning, teaching strategies, and classroom management under the tutelage of a mentor. Employees can retain full-time employment and count their experience towards their college degree.

Check out HECAA's 2025 Policy Priorities. Download one-pager here.

Upcoming events
Mahalo for a great session!

Thank you so much for supporting and advocating for our keiki and families so amazingly over the 2025 Hawai'i Legislative Regular Session. Early Childhood had some significant wins this session, and while there is still much work to be done, we wanted to celebrate the wins and mahalo each and every one of you who showed up to advocate for our keiki this session. Our big HECAA win for this session was the passing of HB 692, which will expand access to the Preschool Open Doors Program (POD). The major highlight of this bill is that, effective January 2026, two-year-olds will now be eligible. In addition, the accreditation mandate has been removed, and families may now be eligible for continuous enrollment through kindergarten entry. Sadly, the inclusion of our Family Child Care (FCC) providers was removed by the legislature. We hope to show up in big ways for our FCCs next session and hope to see you there! On the DHS administrative rules side, our advocates successfully pushed for increasing the income eligibility for POD to 500% of the federal poverty level. This means that now our working-class ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) families will also be eligible to receive Preschool Open Doors subsidies. At the most recent Childcare Advisory Committee meeting, DHS reported that they are aiming to make the new rules active within the summer of 2025. The next round of Preschool Open Doors applications (FAQs) is expected to open on July 1, 2025. Please let your friends and family know. Some other big wins for keiki during this session were the passing of SB 1300, which expands access to free and reduced meal prices for our DOE keiki. HB 237 appropriates funds to establish and support a peer-to-peer support program for families with children ages birth. HB 392 allows the School Facilities Authority to work with public and private entities to develop prekindergarten, preschool, child care, and early learning program facilities. HB 300 relating to the budget appropriates funds to the Executive Office of Early Learning, as well as the School Facilities Authority, to continue expanding access to early learning throughout the state. Mahalo to our partners and advocates for coming together so brilliantly and working so hard to get these bills passed. All of the mentioned bills have passed through the legislature and are awaiting the Governor's signature! HB 549 relating to an early learning apprenticeship grant program made it to the very last day of session, but ultimately did not receive clearance from the Finance Committee, chaired by Rep. Yamashita. The introducer and Chair of the Higher Education Committee, Representative Andrew Takuya Garrett, has verbally expressed a willingness to support an Early Learning Apprenticeship bill in the 2026 session. Additionally, there is a new chair of the Finance Committee, Representative Chris Todd from District 3 (Portion of Hilo, Keaukaha, Orchidlands Estate, Ainaloa, Hawaiian Acres, Fern Acres, portions of Kurtistown and Kea‘au). Mahalo to Senator San Buenaventura and the Committee on Health and Human Services, Representative Lisa Marten and the Committee on Human Services and Homelessness, Senator Kidani and the Committee on Education, and Senator Kim and the Committee on Higher Education, for hearing our bills and keeping them alive through the 2025 legislative session. Unless things change, these will continue to be the chairs that we will work with to move our early childhood bills. If you are obliged, reach out to them and/ or their committee members throughout the year and let them know that you care about early learning. In closing, we again send you our deepest gratitude and appreciation. It was a crazy session, but our advocates really pulled through! You all are so amazing and inspiring. There have been so many times throughout the session that I have just been awed by the ways Hawai'i's advocates have shown up for our children. Thank you so much for everything you've done and continue to do for our keiki and families. It has been an honor and a pleasure. Best wishes and a heartfelt mahalo, Your HECAA team
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Moving strongly to the finish line

Aloha all, Sending this message in hope and gratitude. It's been a busy year so far and a very busy legislative session. With so many uncertainties in our midst it is very grounding and inspiring to know that we are surrounded by such a strong body of caring, dedicated early childhood advocates. We are quickly approaching the close of session and I am enamored to let you know that our bills are still alive. HB 549 our apprenticeships bill and HB 692, our Preschool Open Doors bill passed through WAM this week. They'll be going to conference so we will stay vigilant and continue to keep you apprised of any matters of concern. SB 1609 our contracts bill needs to be heard by FIN, so please call Rep. Yamashita to request a hearing today. His contact info and a script are below. As always, we send you our sincere gratitude for all your support this session and for all the work you do year round. Wishing you a wonderful day. In humble gratitude and best wishes, Malia FIN Chair Kyle Yamashita Hawai‘i State Capitol, Room 306 Phone: 808-586-6200 Fax: 808-586-6201 [email protected] Sample Script Aloha! I am calling Representative Yamashita to kindly request that he please schedule a hearing for SB1609. This bill would create a model for a more stabilized revenue stream for programs helping to secure access to childcare for Hawai'i's families Thank you for your consideration of scheduling this bill to be heard!
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