Rural Alaska caller urges more state support for Infant Learning Program and childcare

Calling from Kotzebue during the Senate Finance Committee’s Feb. 7, 2025, testimony session, Tracy Shaffer said the Infant Learning Program and child care services in rural Alaska need more state funding to meet demand and rising costs.

Shaffer identified herself as the director of a nonprofit that operates state‑licensed childcare in Kotzebue and told senators that ‘‘the Infant Learning Program ... is a vital resource and often the only resource for children with delays or disabilities throughout the state and in remote areas.’’ She said the program ‘‘has been flat funded for over 10 years while the cost of living has increased over 40% in that time. We’re stretched very thin to serve these children.’’

She also urged continued support and funding for recommendations from the governor’s childcare task force, saying the task force work ‘‘has done some great stuff’’ but that many local caregivers are prohibited from participating by regulation and need financial support to implement recommended approaches.

Why it matters: testimony linked early childhood support to educational outcomes and workforce participation in rural communities. ‘‘Child care is not only workforce, but it’s something that absolutely has to happen for you to have a workforce across the state,’’ Shaffer said, urging the Senate to consider funding to operationalize the task force’s findings.

The committee did not take a vote during the testimony period. Shaffer’s remarks were part of a larger set of budget testimonies focused on education, behavioral health, and social services.