DCYF leaders outline budget, subsidy and licensing plans to shore up child care providers

Department of Children, Youth and Families leaders told the Early Learning Advisory Council and Provider Supports subcommittee that their top priorities for stabilizing the early‑care sector are higher subsidy rates, broader eligibility and operational changes to licensing practices.

Nicole Rose, assistant secretary for early learning, said DCYF’s decision packages underlie the department’s approach to supporting providers and called three elements “foundational”: increasing subsidy rates; moving more toward enrollment‑based, prospective payments for providers accepting subsidy; and expanding family eligibility so more families pay sustainable monthly rates. “Our decision packages really are the foundation of doing that,” Rose said.

Rose gave numerical estimates for planning purposes: taken together, the proposed rate increases, expanded income eligibility and federal Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) implementation work would amount to roughly a 44% increase in the Working Connections Child Care (WCCC) budget for the biennium. She said an average provider’s rate could rise about 27% if the state moved to the 80th percentile of the 2024 market‑rate survey, and that expanding income eligibility could raise caseload by about 25%.

“Those three items together are almost a billion dollars,” Rose said, adding that programmatic permutations change percent calculations: “Depending upon how you slice it, there are all kinds of ways to look at the percent increases in budget.” She also said DCYF plans to add one month of eligibility for roughly 15,000 families under some options.

Allison (Director of Public Affairs) placed those proposals in the policy context of the Fair Start for Kids Act and the coming administration transition, telling the group that DCYF’s message to the governor and legislature will be to maintain commitments passed by lawmakers in recent years.

Reuben Reeves, assistant secretary of licensing, addressed licensing culture and rule changes. He said the licensing division will train staff on presumed compliance and a strength‑based approach and invite providers to participate in staff training and panel discussions. Reeves also announced several WAC (Washington Administrative Code) revisions scheduled for 2025, including changes to staff‑qualification rules: “We will definitely be reviewing that one…we’ll be opening up our chapter and looking at several of our WACs and we’ll make sure the provider community is aware.”

On insurance pressure for both child‑care and foster‑care providers, Reeves said DCYF has been in internal discussions and plans to request a formal briefing with the incoming state insurance commissioner after the new commissioner is in place in January. The department is also exploring a disclaimer or informational flag on ChildcareCheck to make clear when a provider listed as open is not undergoing licensing actions.

DCYF emphasized limits: many early‑learning funds are line‑itemed, the agency said, so redirecting dollars to non‑subsidy providers or direct grants would require new legislative direction and additional money. Rose said that while some targeted grants (complex‑needs funds, equity grants) exist, reaching all providers with new funding would need further investment and policy authority.

What’s next: DCYF will continue community conversations, advance decision packages in the spring budget cycle and open rule‑making for targeted WAC changes in 2025; staff training and a post‑inspection provider survey are planned to monitor licensing interactions.