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State leaders warn child care in danger without investment

Messenger-Inquirer - 9/25/2022

Sep. 25—The Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence and statewide partners released findings from "A Fragile Ecosystem IV: Will Kentucky Child Care Survive When the Dollars Run Out?" on Thursday.

The report shows answers to surveys that were sent to Kentucky child care providers and how the sector will be impacted once the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds run out.

Six child care providers in Daviess County answered the survey.

"Child care is crucial for the economy and working Kentucky families," said Benjamin Gies, director of early childhood policy and practice at the Prichard Committee. "Child care is the workforce behind the workforce. It provides critical support."

Gies said many families in Kentucky, for various reasons, cannot contribute to the workforce without child care.

"There are three aspects in play when discussing child care: economy, early education and safety," he said. "The future of child care in Kentucky is uncertain right now without more funding coming."

For some families, child care can cost as much as college tuition or a mortgage payment, Gies said.

"Some providers have said they might have to raise the cost of their tuition due to the lack of funding," he said. "Others may have to make pay cuts after being able to provide raises through the ARPA funds."

With the press conference on Thursday, Gies said the Prichard Committee wanted to sound the alarm and let the state know that "serious discussions need to be had" before 2024.

"We want to see them go deeper and be more engaged with providers and see how we can preserve these programs," Gies said. "We want wages to remain high for childcare workers. We also want to focus on mixed-delivery preschools."

Mixed-delivery is a way to stabilize the sector by blending funding sources while preserving parent choice, allowing them to choose different program types and select the one that fits their needs.

"We also want legislators to be informed on our 'Big Bold Ask,' " Gies said.

Big Bold Ask is an initiative through the committee with the goal to provide education excellence for every Kentuckian by reversing "years of budget cuts."

Locally, Owensboro is heading the front in early childhood education importance.

"The community support from Owensboro, along with the Public Life Foundation, Greater Owensboro Partnership for Early Development, play a part in that," Gies said. "Every major sector of Daviess County and Owensboro have an active interest in that families have access to early education."

Gies said that faith-based groups, nonprofits, government entities, corporations and the Chamber of Commerce are working to show that, when it comes to early childhood education, it's not all on the school districts.

"PLF's OK Go! initiative had over 800 families that engaged," Gies said.

OK Go! was an initiative that PLF began to get families ready for kindergarten, having a different task for parents and children to participate in every day.

"The next step falls to residents of Kentucky," Gies said. "Know who your state representatives are and take the information and numbers from the survey and share it with them and show that working families are depending on them to ensure they have access to child care."

For the full report, visit https://prichardcommittee.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/FragileEcosystemIV.pdf.

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(c)2022 the Messenger-Inquirer (Owensboro, Ky.)

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