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Lawmakers press new children’s agency on daycare closures and transparency of Great Start payments
Summary
Committee members pressed DCYF for actions to stem daycare closures in Greater Minnesota and for transparency about the Great Start Compensation program; agency leaders said the program supports provider pay and that a policy proposal is being prepared to expand public reporting but some family providers oppose disclosure.
Lawmakers told the Department of Children, Youth and Families on Wednesday that childcare closures are accelerating in parts of Greater Minnesota and asked what the new agency will do to stabilize family and center-based providers.
Assistant Commissioner Diane Halsey described two current state efforts for stabilization and workforce development: the Great Start Compensation and Payment Program, which provides monthly grant compensation intended to raise provider pay and help keep programs open, and a “Grow Your Own” initiative aimed at recruiting and training new early childhood educators and prospective family providers. Halsey said the Great Start program has supported thousands of providers and is credited anecdotally with keeping some programs operating.
Representative Celestin Carr and others told the agency the region continues to see closures despite existing programs. Lawmakers pressed for clarity about how new DCYF staff and the approximately $11 million in recent appropriations are being used to arrest the decline in provider capacity and to prioritize provider-stabilization work.
Jennifer Summerfeld, government relations director for DCYF, told the committee that the department has provided the data it can under current rules but plans a policy proposal to allow more transparency on Great Start payments. “A decision was made over a year ago ... that we would follow the childcare assistance program regulations for what data we could provide, regarding the Great Start Compensation Support Payment Program,” Summerfeld said. She said some family providers opposed public release of provider-level payment data, and the agency intends to pursue legislation to clarify data release rules.
Committee members asked for provider-level payment lists; DCYF officials said they will work with the committee and with providers to craft any change so it balances transparency and provider concerns. Lawmakers also requested more specific program outcomes and local-data analysis to show the extent to which Great Start, Grow Your Own and other investments have slowed closures.
