Committee approves plan to use $1.9 million reserve to backfill childcare slots cut by state

The Budget and Finance Committee advanced an ordinance to appropriate one‑time funds from the city's children's contingency to backfill state cuts to Title V contractors, preserving roughly 196–200 subsidized child‑care slots and avoiding immediate classroom and staff closures.

Michelle Rutherford, program manager for child‑care policy at the Human Services Agency, said 15 of the city's 30 Title V contractors applied for local support and that the requested funding would help keep classrooms and teachers employed. "This would be approximately 200 slots," she said. The Department of Children, Youth and Their Families (DCYF) and HSA modeled the reimbursement process on state contracts so providers would not run afoul of state requirements.

Taurus Madison, DCYF budget director, clarified the money comes from a $2.6 million reserve in the children's fund and is intended as one‑time funding for the remainder of the fiscal year; longer‑term funding would require reprioritization or other measures. Budget analyst Mr. Rose reviewed allocations to 15 community providers (totaling $723,814) and recommended an amendment reducing the ordinance amount by $56,008.75 to $1,843,125 to reflect administrative costs; the committee accepted that amendment and sent the item to the full Board with recommendation.

Provider testimony underscored local consequences: Laulin Long (Florence Crittenton Services) said the dollars would support several hundred low‑income families; Mary McNamara (Compass Children's Center) said without the funding her program would lose up to 10 slots and four teachers. Supervisors expressed support for preserving slots while acknowledging concerns about sustainable funding beyond this one‑time action.

The committee approved the measure as amended and moved it forward to the Board with recommendation.