Arkansas partly delays changes to child care funding
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The Arkansas Department of Education delayed some changes to a federally funded preschool and day care program that were announced Sept. 19 while allowing some changes to take effect Wednesday, a department spokesperson confirmed to Axios.
Why it matters: The school readiness assistance program typically serves families that earn 85% of the state median income or less. Child care professionals and advocates say sudden changes in how Arkansas distributes the money will hurt low-income families.
- Child care professionals told legislators during an early childhood education subcommittee meeting Tuesday that the new structure threatens their ability to provide services, keep staff, and avoid raising tuition and that some parents will have to withdraw their children.
The latest: The state went ahead with implementing copayments for families Wednesday but will delay changes to the reimbursement structure for child care providers until Nov. 1, education department spokesperson Rachel Starks told Axios.
How it works: The copayments increase based on children's ages and families' income. Special needs are also a factor. Families whose income is 40% or less than the state median income will not have a copayment until their children are school-aged.
- But a family making more than 60% of the state median income with a child in preschool will be required to pay $13.20 a day ($66 for a five-day week) in most of the state, for example. Benton and Washington counties will have higher copayments than the rest of the state, given the higher market rate.
The new reimbursement structure, now set to go into effect next month, removes a tiered system where higher-quality child care centers, which cost more to provide, receive more funding. That means those centers will be hit hardest and may not be able to maintain their level of quality, Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families education policy director Nicole Carey told Axios.
- In most of the state, the maximum the program will pay for a full day of infant care is $36 a day. That's down from $39 at a lower-quality child care facility — but down from $75 at a higher-quality center.
- Benton and Washington counties will also have higher reimbursement rates.
State of play: State education secretary Jacob Oliva told legislators that the state is "hitting the panic button" with the start of the new fiscal year and that the program cannot operate as it has unless the state supplements it.
- Legislators pressed Oliva on the funding, short notice, lack of communication with lawmakers, and next steps.
- Oliva stressed that the state is no longer receiving as much federal money for the program and could see a shortfall of about $80 million a year.
What they're saying: "These changes made with no warning are already beginning to unravel a fragile system. If they continue, the outcomes will be devastating not just for families but for our entire state," McKinley Hess, executive director of nonprofit Conway Cradle Care, told lawmakers.
- Her organization relies on these vouchers for teen parents with the goal of keeping them in school. Making high-quality child care less accessible will lead to children missing out on early education, parents leaving the workforce, and businesses losing employees, she said.
The big picture: Additional costs on parents compounded with short notice means some parents will likely opt for less regulated alternatives that may not offer academics or be as safe, Lensa Odima Warden, director of Apple Tree Academy in Springdale, told Axios.
- "It's honestly like getting blood out of a turnip because we do have parents that even $3 a week is hard," Warden said.
Zoom in: About 16,000 children in the state participate in the program, and another 1,100 are on a waitlist.
What we're watching: The Legislature could allot state funding to supplement the program, Oliva told lawmakers, although no formal requests have been made.