New child care law takes effect; state puts $24M to early childhood programs
“Like lots of other families, we just want to be able to struggle a little bit less. … We have to do better for our kids and our communities. I know so many families like mine whose child care costs are the same or more than what they're paying for their mortgage or rent.”
The new law, passed by Bozeman Democratic Rep. Alice Buckley, increases eligibility for the Best Beginnings child care scholarship to up to 185% of the federal poverty level, which is expected to up participation in the program by 25%. The income threshold is now $36,482 for a single parent with one child and $55,500 for a family of four.
The change comes at the same time as Gov. Greg Gianforte’s administration announced an additional $24 million in federal money toward child care and other early childhood programs statewide.
The new law also caps the co-pays families pay at 9% of their monthly income. Co-pays had been $10 for all families when the state used federal COVID-19 aid dollars to boost the program, but when that money expired the amount families paid soared, in some cases to more than $1,000 a month.
The cap and new income thresholds help families like Knowlton’s keep their children in child care and maintain their hours at work.
"This law will make such a difference for parents and families like mine who just need a little bit of extra help," Knowlton said.
The new law also means a major change for child care providers, who will now be paid the same amount by the scholarship and not see reduced state funding if a child misses more than a set amount of days each month, which could happen because of illness or other issues.
“If a kiddo missed 10 days, let's say they got COVID and then they persistently were sick, I only got paid for two weeks of care (a month)” said Jen Gursky, the executive director of the YWCA of Helena. “I don't get to lay off staff, my budget does not decrease because kiddos don't come to child care.” Families who can afford to pay for care without the scholarship pay the same fee each month, regardless of attendance.