How we are Using This Agenda This Session

Throughout the session, the Forum will use the Common Agenda to: 

• Align across coalitions and organizations so we are not working against each other
• Support and lift up the work our partners are already leading
• Engage with one another proactively when there is alignment and shared goals
• Keep track of bills and budget plans that affect the lives of young children and their families

We will not actively advocate for every bill that comes up this session, but when a bill connects to one of these specific issues, we will watch it closely, learn from it, and help educate others on what it means. 

What We’re Actively Advancing Together

Using the Common Agenda and the Forum’s 2026 State Policy Agenda, we are focusing on policies that: 

• Make child care easier to find, more affordable, and better supported for workers and providers
• Help keep families strong through paid family and medical leave, financial support, and lower costs
• Improve health, nutrition, housing, and early help for babies and young children. 
• Create a better system for families, from pregnancy through age five. 

This work is rooted in our shared values. We believe in working together, sharing power, fixing unfair systems, and speaking with one clear voice when we can. 

As the session continues, we will share updates and ways to get involved. The Common Agenda is a living document that will help us stay focused on what matters most for Mississippi’s youngest children and their families. 

Mississippi Forum For the Future: 2026 Legislative Priorities

Using the Common Agenda, the Forum has identified a short list of priorities we will pay close attention to, and actively support, during the 2026 session. These priorities reflect areas where there is strong alignment across coalitions and clear opportunities to strengthen outcomes for babies, families, and the systems that serve them. 

During this session, the Forum will help educate others about our partners recommendations, including: 

• Maintain or increase funding for the Child Care Payment Program (CCPP) so families can continue to afford care and child care programs can stay open. . 
• Simplify and strengthen the Child Care Business Tax Credit (CCBTC) by lowering the minimum investment per child and/or advancing a hub model that makes the program easier for businesses and child care providers to use (championed by the Mississippi Early Learning Alliance and the Mississippi Economic Council). . 
• Expand State Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) so more working families, especially teachers and public employees, can access time off to care for new babies and loved ones (championed by Mississippi Black Women’s Round Table). 
• Removing the sales tax on diapers and period products to help families save money, as recommended by Six Dimensions and the Diaper Bank of the Delta. 
• Support more equitable and strategic use of TANF funds to better serve families with young children and offset the costs of child care. 
• Support greater transparency and accountability around access, timelines, and progress for Early Intervention (First Steps) in our state. . 
• Support the Department of Human Services’ request for more funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) so families can afford healthy food.  
• Helping families stay in safe homes, including expanding the Repair and Deduct allotment and timeline for families with young children, as recommended by the Mississippi Center for Justice 

Each of these priorities are connected. They show that helping young children means supporting families and making sure each of the different systems work together.