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Lawmakers consider sliding co‑pays and enrollment protections to shrink childcare scholarship wait list
Summary
Two companion bills would exempt the lowest‑income families from co‑pays, create a sliding fee for others (capped at 7% of income), and prevent scholarship enrollment freezes for designated vulnerable groups, while prioritizing childcare workers and families with greatest need on wait lists.
Lawmakers on the Senate Education, Energy and the Environment Committee heard bipartisan testimony about steps intended to reduce Maryland’s childcare scholarship wait list and preserve the childcare workforce.
Delegate Julie Palakovich Carr and Delegate Bernice Americ North presented complementary bills. HB1321 would replace the current token co‑pay system with an income‑based sliding scale: families at or below the federal poverty line and those receiving certain safety‑net benefits would be exempt; other families would pay co‑pays that gradually increase with income but would not exceed 7% of household income. The sponsor’s office said modeling by the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) and the Governor’s Innovation Team estimates…
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