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Committee advances childcare bill to allow multi-site licensing, expand school-based care
Summary
Lawmakers advanced House Bill 1253 to permit multi-site childcare licensing, allow school-based childcare for nonemployee children and extend waiver durations from two to three years; the committee voted to recommit the bill to appropriations.
Lawmakers advanced House Bill 1253, a measure aimed at increasing childcare capacity by reducing regulatory burden on providers. The committee voted to move the bill with a recommendation to recommit to the appropriations committee.
Representative Heiney, the bill’s sponsor, told the committee the proposal responds to a shortage of childcare across the state: of roughly 326,000 children needing care, only 62% can access a facility, and average annual costs are high, about $12,600 for an infant and $9,600 for a 4-year-old, he said. He described three changes in the bill: removing a requirement that children in school-based childcare be children of school employees; allowing multi-site childcare centers to operate under a single license to streamline openings and administration; and extending the duration of granted waivers or variances from two years to three.
Supporters included the state Family and Social Services Administration’s interim legislative director Kayla Skinner, United Way of Central Indiana, and representatives of YMCA organizations. YMCA and local center directors told the committee that multi-site licensing would reduce weeks or months of paperwork per center, allow staff mobility across sites, and enable faster openings of new centers. Business and economic-development groups also testified that expanded access to childcare supports workforce participation and local economies.
Representative Heiney asked that the committee recommit the bill to the Appropriations (Ways and Means) committee to consider fiscal implications. The committee voted to recommit; the roll call recorded eight yes votes and no recorded no votes in the excerpt, and the clerk announced the recommitment.
If enacted as described in testimony, the bill would not change safety oversight but would reduce administrative duplications for established providers seeking to operate multiple locations and would extend waiver durations to three years.
