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Accessible, high-quality child care is as essential to Kentucky’s economy as roads, bridges, and high-speed internet. The time is now to invest in child care infrastructure that is affordable for families, supports the child care workforce and providers, and fosters growth.
For Kentucky’s approximately 250,000 parents and guardians of young children, access to child care allows them to raise and educate their children while obtaining gainful employment and improving their children’s individual future success. And we can lay the foundation for the future strength of our state and our economy. .
During this year’s 60-day budget session, the Kentucky General Assembly is expected to pass a spending plan for the state’s next two years. The House passed the first version of that budget, HB 6. We are grateful that the House recognizes child care as critical infrastructure. The proposed $52 million annual investment in child care would be the largest in state history. However, more targeted investments are needed.
Existing child care infrastructure needs more funding
Metro United Way and partners across the state are seeking an annual investment of $70 million to strengthen Kentucky’s child care infrastructure by:
Kentucky’s two-year state budget proposal is as follows: Some things are right, but childcare is a struggle
The Child Care Assistance Program is a state subsidy that allows some low-income families in Kentucky to receive child care and secure gainful employment for the household. Her two recently enacted CCAP provisions, the earned income deduction and expanded eligibility requirements, will help thousands of Kentucky families access and receive child care. It had a huge impact. The former would provide free childcare to daycare workers, enhance their benefits, and provide additional childcare spots to more working families. The latter will ensure that an additional 11,000 Kentucky families currently eligible for benefits at 85% of the state’s median income remain in the workforce.
Seventy-nine of Kentucky’s 120 counties are considered child care deserts. Start-up grants to open providers in these areas are critical to ensuring child care is available in rural areas of the state and in areas within communities, both through child care centers and family child care facilities.
Public-private partnerships also contribute to the sustainability of child care. The Employer Child Care Assistance Program is an innovative approach that matches child care costs through state funding and voluntary employer contributions. By maintaining ECCAP, more employers will use it as a tool to recruit and retain talent and demonstrate value to their employees who are working parents.
A strong child care system is critical to the success of working families, employers, and the economy as a whole. We urge the Kentucky General Assembly to further invest in child care infrastructure. Kentucky’s families, employers, and economy need child care to ensure the well-being of our children and build the foundation for a stronger, more resilient workforce.
Liz McQuillan is chief policy officer at Metro United Way.
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