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Childcare providers urge House Finance to protect $7.7M in recurring grants, press for workforce supports
Summary
Childcare operators and advocates told the committee the newly proposed recurring $7.725 million in grants is critical to keep programs open, cover rising operating costs and narrow a gap between subsidy rates and true cost of care; advocates also urged restoration of a teacher recruitment/retention stipend (ROUTES).
Childcare providers and advocates urged the House Finance Committee to preserve newly proposed recurring grants and consider additional workforce supports to prevent further program closures and to reduce a $600-per-child gap between state subsidies and true provider costs.
Christina Eubanks, director of Hillcrest Children's Center, said the current operating grants kept her center open and paid for essentials such as food and emergency repairs. "Without it many childcare providers including myself would struggle to remain operational and may be forced to close our doors," she said.
Jenny Stuckey, chief operations officer at Camp Fire Alaska, told the committee the $7,700,000 restored in the subcommittee is vital to stabilize a sector that has lost more than 150 programs in the last three years. "These operating grants allow us to continue to serve over 550 youth across our 18 program locations every day," Stuckey said.
THREAD public-policy manager Nick Moe thanked the committee for the child care grant and urged additional support for ROUTES, a recruitment and retention stipend previously funded two years ago that helps retain early educators. Moe said the state faces an estimated shortfall of child care slots for roughly 23,000 children and that closures and underpayment of early educators reduce parental workforce participation.
Foster and adoptive parent Ashley Mackey urged the committee to ensure that state reimbursement for children in Office of Children's Services custody covers the full cost of care so foster families can keep children in placement. Testifiers spoke in favor of keeping reimbursement levels at the full provider cost to avoid further disruptions for vulnerable children.
The testimony covered multiple parts of the childcare policy picture, including operating grants, subsidy reimbursement rates and workforce incentives; the committee recorded the comments for budget consideration (HB 53).
