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DECAL: Georgia early‑learning capacity up modestly; CAPS subsidy serves about 51,000 children
Summary
DECAL told the Senate appropriations subcommittee that licensed childcare capacity in Georgia rose about 6% to roughly 387,000 slots and that the CAPS subsidy serves roughly 51,000 children with an average scholarship near $7,500; agency officials said quality ratings and federal funding remain central to access.
Miss Kim of the Department of Early Care and Learning told the Senate Appropriations: Education & Higher Education Subcommittee that Georgia’s licensed early‑learning capacity has increased about 6% over five years to roughly 387,000 child slots statewide and that the distribution of children by age has remained steady.
"About 14 percent of the infant population in Georgia is in licensed childcare," Miss Kim said, and she added that participation steadily rises with age: "When you look at 4‑year‑olds, 85 percent of 4‑year‑olds are in either licensed childcare or Georgia Pre‑K." She said Georgia Pre‑K is serving a little more than 68,000 children this school year and that the program funded 138 new classes statewide.
Miss Kim described the CAPS subsidy program as 1 of DECAL’s largest efforts to improve access for low‑income families. "This program serves 51,000 children and the annual scholarship is about $7,500," she said, describing CAPS as funded primarily with federal Child Care and Development Fund dollars and some state general funds. Committee members heard that CAPS families pay the difference between the subsidy and actual tuition, and that higher‑quality programs typically charge more.
DECAL also described its voluntary quality‑rating system, which uses a 1‑to‑3 star scale. About 2,900 programs have received a star rating and 98 percent of CAPS recipients are enrolled in quality‑rated programs, Miss Kim said. She told the committee that star ratings are published on DECAL’s website.
On funding, DECAL said its early‑learning mix is approximately 49 percent federal dollars, 45 percent state lottery proceeds and about 6.2 percent state general funds.
Committee members pressed DECAL on which providers closed and why family childcare homes declined even as larger centers expanded; Miss Kim said the department had not fully analyzed the shift to larger centers and cited COVID‑era relief supports as one factor that helped stabilize capacity.
The subcommittee did not take formal action on the presentation; members thanked the agency and moved on to other budget items.
