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Committee hears bill to create rural childcare stabilization and support payments
Summary
Representative Purcell introduced House File 27‑32 to create a rural childcare stabilization and support payments program modeled on existing compensation supports; rural providers and owners testified that additional, flexible funding would help keep small‑town programs open.
Representative Kelly Purcell presented House File 27‑32, a proposal to establish a rural childcare stabilization and support payments program modeled on the Great Start Compensation Support Program, with funding uses expanded to include rent, equipment, training, compensation and benefits for providers in small cities.
Purcell told the committee the program structure mirrors the compensation support program already in place and that subdivision 7 would expand eligible uses to help rural programs cover operating costs. She said the bill does not include a fixed dollar amount in statute and would be allocated “as you see fit and have available,” and argued that the funding would help providers stay open and expand slots in Greater Minnesota.
Two rural providers testified in support. Tana Schneider, owner and director of Village Learning Center in Dundas, described being the only center in her small city and said demand has increased with population growth; she urged support so providers can maintain services and improve staff compensation. Karen DeVos, owner and director of Little Learners Early Child Care Center in Norman County, said her program serves roughly 90 children across two sites and is adding a third; she described operating without a salary for years and said reimbursements for families on assistance fail to cover true costs. DeVos argued that without additional supports “more centers will close” and that the bill “offers a real solution.”
Members asked about the dollar limits in the draft language. Representative Purcell said she was open to adjusting specific payment caps and noted the proposal is intended to complement existing Great Start compensation payments. Representative Nadeau asked whether providers would be ineligible for current dollars; Purcell said the rural infusion would be in addition to existing compensation payments. The author later moved to lay the bill over; the committee recorded no final vote on funding amounts in this hearing.
Why it matters: witnesses described rural childcare as a crisis and said flexible funding for operating costs and staff compensation is needed to keep centers open and prevent workforce loss in small communities. The committee laid over House File 27‑32 for further consideration.
