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Local child-care provider warns county board that temporary $13-per-hour wage boost faces July cutoff
Summary
An Eau Claire child-care provider told the county board that temporary pandemic-related wage supplements that raised many child-care workers' pay to about $13 per hour are due to end, and warned the loss could shrink child-care slots and push families out of the workforce; she invited supervisors to local rallies and events.
Julia Benkert, a home-based early childhood teacher from Eau Claire, urged the county board during public comment to consider the consequences if temporary pandemic-era wage supports for child-care staff are not extended at the state level.
"Right now, teachers are making $13 an hour average, with the funding that's supporting it," Benkert said, adding that without the funding the average had been about $10 an hour before pandemic supplements. She told the board the funding that sustained the higher wages is scheduled to end and that the state Joint Finance Committee was scheduled to vote on the issue later in the week; she urged officials to track the issue and flagged local organizing and events.
Benkert said current county data she cited shows about 1.8 children for every available child-care slot in Eau Claire County and that slots will shrink starting in August if the funding is not renewed. She said centers and family providers are already considering closures and rate increases: in her comments she reported figures of "23% of childcare centers in Eau Claire County will be closing in August" and that "43% will be raising their rates," a characterization she presented as based on local surveys and advocacy outreach. Benkert warned families could pay a much larger share of household income for care or leave the workforce if capacity falls.
She invited board members to a rally and informational presentations on July 19: a rally at 10:00 a.m. at Phoenix Park and a formal presentation at 4:00 p.m. at the Eau Claire Public Library, both listed in her remarks.
The board heard Benkert as part of the public-comment period; supervisors thanked her and other attendees and referred questions on state funding to advocacy channels while noting the county's limited direct authority over state budget decisions.
Ending: Benkert said advocacy will continue and urged local officials to watch the state committee action and local events; supervisors acknowledged the issue but noted county action would be limited without state or other funding sources.
