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Budget funds 'Bright Futures' plan to lower child care costs and expand slots
Summary
OSPB's Bright Futures child care package would combine $112.4M GF with federal and ARPA funds to expand assistance, seed a public-private cost-sharing pilot, add licensing staff, and create out-of-school grants while aiming to cut the child care waitlist in half.
Sarah Bogas, senior budget analyst with OSPB, laid out the Administration's Bright Futures child care initiative, which combines state general fund dollars, ARPA funds and existing federal funding to expand access and reduce family costs.
The plan includes a $7 million GF deposit to create a public'private partnership that shares child-care costs among families, businesses and the state; an out-of-school-time grant program for ages 5—2; a business child-care tax credit pilot; and funding to add licensing coaching positions at the Department of Health Services. The executive budget also includes $112.4 million from the general fund and $78.7 million from the Child Care and Development Fund to expand the Department of Economic Security'administered child care assistance program and sustain a 50% high-quality enhancement rate to help providers recruit and retain educators.
OSPB said these investments will help reduce the projected child-care waitlist by half and allow the department to serve an average of about 25,400 children per month.
