Committee hears extensive testimony on HB360 to boost child-care worker pay

House Health and Human Services Committee members heard hours of testimony on House Bill 360, a proposal to create a state program that would deliver payments to licensed and registered child-care facilities to increase wages and benefits for early childhood workers, Representative Melissa Romano (House District 80) told the panel.

Romano, the bill's sponsor, said mounting workforce shortages and low pay have reduced capacity across the state. "Childcare is not just a service, it's vital to Montana's economy, our workforce and the healthy development of children," Romano said, and she told the committee that "66% of Montana children under the age of 6 have all of their household adults in the workforce."

Supporters said the primary goal of HB360 is to stabilize and expand access to child care by funding compensation for the workforce so providers can retain staff without passing large tuition increases on to families.

Testimony and evidence

Supporters — business owners, center directors, nonprofit and labor representatives, and parents from across Montana — described similar problems: chronic turnover, difficulty recruiting staff, and tuition that families already struggle to afford.

Grace Decker, who testified for Montana Advocates for Children, summarized the market failure: "The problem is this, childcare costs more to produce than families can afford to pay," she said, urging state support for providers so they can raise compensation without pricing out…