CLOSE GAPS BY 5

Close gaps by 5 recognizes that building high-quality programs is not enough if families do not have the means to access them. The second focus of close gap's program work is on educating policymakers and the public about the importance of increasing investments to enable access to high-quality early care and education programs by expanding access to early learning scholarships for children in low-income families. The state adopted the early learning scholarship program in 2011. We have been leading partners in promoting the program to policymakers and the public since that time and have reached a level where an estimated 12,000 minnesota children benefit from early learning scholarships annually.