# 119-s-4597: Early Childhood Workforce Advancement Act of 2026

119-s-4597, Early Childhood Workforce Advancement Act of 2026, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Merkley, Jeff [D-OR] (D-OR); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-07-25).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4597
- As of: 2026-07-25
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-4597
- Congress: 119
- Title: Early Childhood Workforce Advancement Act of 2026
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-05-20
- Sponsor: Sen. Merkley, Jeff [D-OR] (D-OR)
- Cosponsors: 5
- Policy area: Education
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-07-25

## Summary

**Builds career pathways for early childhood educators through competitive grants.** This bill would fund partnerships to create, expand, or support career and technical education programs of study in early childhood education aligned with the Carl D. Perkins framework and demonstrated local employer needs. - Families and children: Would expand training focused on infant/toddler care, extended or nontraditional hours, and inclusive services for children with disabilities to help address local childcare shortages. - Early childhood educators and staff: Would get support for credentials, apprenticeships, mentoring, paid internships, alternative certification routes, and retention efforts including compensation initiatives and wraparound supports like child care and transportation. - Local colleges, child care providers, employers, workforce boards, and other partners: Would be eligible to form grant partnerships that must align with Perkins local needs assessments, include institutions of higher education where possible, and provide independent evaluation and annual, Perkins-aligned performance reporting. Grants generally run up to 5 years with one possible 2-year extension.

## Cosponsors (5)

- Sen. Gillibrand, Kirsten E. [D-NY] (D-NY), 2026-05-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Heinrich, Martin [D-NM] (D-NM), 2026-05-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Luján, Ben Ray [D-NM] (D-NM), 2026-05-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Schiff, Adam B. [D-CA] (D-CA), 2026-05-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Wyden, Ron [D-OR] (D-OR), 2026-05-20T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Grants to train early childhood educators: benefit, medium. If enacted, the bill would create competitive federal grants to local partnerships. The grants would set up or expand career and technical education programs in early childhood education. Funds could pay for coursework, validated credentials, work-based learning (including paid internships and appr…

## Related bills

- 119-s-3990: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026
- 119-s-2823: FAMILY Act
- 119-s-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act
- 119-s-5108: Right to IVF Act of 2026
- 119-s-1503: Equality Act
- 119-s-1068: Putting Veterans First Act of 2025

## Sources
- [119-s-4597 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/4597)

## Related
- [119-s-3990: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3990)
- [119-s-2823: FAMILY Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2823)
- [119-s-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-51)
- [119-s-5108: Right to IVF Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5108)
- [119-s-1503: Equality Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1503)
- [119-s-1068: Putting Veterans First Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1068)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4597 (as of 2026-07-25).