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Montana committee hears plan for $150 million child-care endowment to fund grants and workforce supports
Summary
Sen. Laura Smith told the House Health and Human Services Committee that SB 565 would create a $150 million endowment whose interest funds grants for child-care workforce development, technical assistance, recruitment/retention and affordability. Proponents representing providers, advocates and business groups urged passage; DPHHS clarified administration and fiscal-note errors.
Sen. Laura Smith, sponsor of Senate Bill 565, told the House Health and Human Services Committee that the bill would create a $150 million corpus endowment for early childhood and child-care supports, with only the interest spent on grants for workforce development, technical assistance, recruitment and retention, and programs to improve affordability.
Proponents described the measure as a long-term funding solution. "This bill creates a long term endowment that generates a sustainable revenue through interest earnings, not ongoing state dollars," said Kaitlyn Jensen, executive director of 0 to 5 Montana, who testified in support. Grace Decker of the Montana Advocates for Children and Sheridan Hoyer of the Montana Chamber of Commerce also urged approval, framing child care as essential infrastructure for businesses and the state economy. Several nonprofit providers described endowments as a way to stabilize programs and attract private philanthropic dollars.
DPHHS staff said the board created by the bill would be administratively attached to the Department of Public Health and Human Services and would administer competitive grants. Tracy Mosman, administrator for the Early Childhood and Family Support Division, told the committee that earlier technical notes in the fiscal analysis were erroneous (caused by concurrent trust-bill work) and clarified that the revenue generated by the trust is expected to be reinvested as grants administered through rules set with the hired program specialist and the board. Mosman said the fund’s revenue would be used in addition to — not as a replacement for — existing subsidy programs such as Best Beginnings.
Committee members pressed technical and fiscal details, including whether the fund could be used for existing DPHHS programs and what rule-making authority the board would have to define eligible uses. Senator Smith cited statistics offered by proponents about business impacts and familial child-care disruptions and referenced national examples of states using trust funds for early childhood. She closed the hearing by asking the committee to consider the long-term economic and social returns of investing in early childhood.
No formal action or votes were taken during the hearing; the committee closed the SB 565 hearing after questions and testimony and moved on to the next bill.
