GOP lawmakers reject effort to extend child care funding

 

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Wisconsin Republicans on the state's budget-writing committee voted early Friday morning against extending a pandemic-era program aimed at keeping child care providers in business.

Democrats on the Joint Finance Committee made a last-ditch effort to restore more than $300 million Gov. Tony Evers had dedicated toward making the 'Child Care Counts' program permanent.

Republicans, who control the legislature, stripped out the provision early in the process of re-writing Evers' budget. Democrats' motion to put back the funding failed in an 11-4 party-line vote that came around 1:40 a.m. Friday.

Cassandra Holley, who owns three Dreamland Child Care centers in the Milwaukee area, said she'd been receiving Child Care Counts payments since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Even though there was a shutdown, we still had to pay rent," she said. "We still had to pay We Energies."

As children returned to the daycare centers, Holley said enrollment had still fallen by 60% compared to pre-pandemic levels. She added it was a struggle to hire and retain workers, so she's since used a portion of the aid to pay out monthly bonuses and advertise job openings.

"The workers couldn't afford to stay," Holley said. "Walmart was paying more than the daycare."

Holley said she's worried about returning to a situation where she's struggling to compete for talent. Once Wisconsin's share of federal funding runs out in January, the program will end, according to a Department of Children and Families (DCF) spokesperson.

Holley said she would not cut staff wages and cannot lose any more workers. She added overhead costs, like rent, food and supplies, will also remain.

"Some things just cannot be cut, so it's going to affect the children," she said. "We're gonna have less field trips, we're not going to be able to bring people in for children with special needs and counseling, things like that."

According to the DCF spokesperson, the agency has allocated a total of nearly $460 million over the course of three rounds. The money comes from federal pandemic relief Wisconsin received.

The state paid out $375 million in the first two rounds of funding; the second round ended in May. About $90 million remains for the third and final round of monthly payments.

"Early care and education (ECE) professionals are the backbone of our economy and help parents enter and remain in the workforce,” DCF Secretary Emilie Amundson said in a statement. “I know that our legislators have heard from them, as well as from business and community leaders and parents about the importance of child care and its connection to strong communities, which is why the committee’s vote was so disappointing."

Holley received her first third-round payment letter Friday and noted the payments were less than half of what they were during the second round.

"I'm grateful for that little bit," Holley said. "However, it's a huge cut."

Republican members of the Joint Finance Committee did not discuss the child care proposal before rejecting the Democratic motion Friday morning. 

The office of Joint Finance Committee Co-chair Rep. Mark Born (R-Beaver Dam) did not respond to questions Friday.

CBS 58 also contacted committee members, Reps. Jessie Rodriguez (R-Oak Creek) and Tony Kurtz (R-Wonewoc), but their offices did not respond to questions, either.

State Sen. Kelda Roys (D-Madison) became choked up during her speech on the motion Friday morning, noting the state's $7 billion surplus as she called on the committee to make the $300 million commitment over the next two years.

"I mean, what is this [surplus] money for?" Roys said. "What are we saving it for if we're gonna let our entire child care infrastructure close?"

Holley said her biggest concern was the impact of not extending the program wouldn't be felt for at least another decade, predicting the lack of continued aid would cause more child care providers to close.

"We need to be careful when we think about what we will not do for these kids," Holley said. "Kids are most definitely our future. That's just not a cliche; it's the honest-to-God truth."