Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Advocates and providers urge reopening scholarship slots as freeze strains programs and families
Summary
Advocates and provider representatives told the Ways and Means Committee the partial scholarship freeze is forcing families into unregulated care, reducing provider revenues and threatening program stability; they urged reopening the wait list, targeted funding and private‑sector incentives such as employer tax credits.
Maryland Family Network, the Maryland Chamber of Commerce and provider groups described concrete harms caused by the partial childcare scholarship freeze and offered solutions to expand access and capacity.
Laura Wheeldreier of Maryland Family Network said families faced "desperation and hopelessness," recounted cases of parents leaving hospital visits early or moving in with relatives to afford care, and urged lawmakers to "open up the wait list" so parents can return to work and children can access licensed care. She noted recent capacity gains — nearly 300 new licensed programs and about 2,000 new slots — but said families cannot use that capacity while the scholarship program is frozen.
Mary…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
