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Early‑childhood providers urge maintaining CCAP funding as baseline, warn of wait lists
Summary
Early‑childhood providers and advocates told the Finance Committee that maintaining the House's $78 million investment in the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) is necessary to keep childcare providers operational, but that maintenance funding is insufficient to close a wait list of thousands of children.
Early‑childhood providers, accreditation groups and policy analysts testified that the House budget’s maintenance of $78,000,000 for CCAP (the Child Care Assistance Program) is essential to preserve existing capacity but not enough to clear an estimated wait list of roughly 7,000 children.
Megan Garretson (LACI) and other childcare providers said CCAP funding keeps parents working and preserves workforce productivity; they urged the Senate to view CCAP as infrastructure rather than a line item. Witnesses described staffing constraints, a persistent wait list and the need to move from maintenance funding to strategic expansion if the state aims to grow capacity and retain workers.
Policy advocates recommended deeper investments and a multi‑year approach to expand slots and reduce the wait list; speakers noted HB 1 maintains current funding but does not expand access. Committee members thanked providers and said staff will factor CCAP testimony into upcoming budget trade‑offs.
