West Virginia child care centers are closing and the crisis is growing, but state leaders again punted on funding a program that would help parents
By La Shawn Pagán
This story was originally published by Mountain State Spotlight. Get stories like this delivered to your email inbox once a week; sign up for the free newsletter at https://mountainstatespotlight.org/newsletter.
West Virginia child care centers are closing. A deadline to fund help so parents can afford child care is fast approaching. Lawmakers and Gov. Jim Justice insist that child care is a priority.
But again last week, policymakers met and adjourned without taking any child care action.
After child care was not addressed during the regular legislative session, Gov. Jim Justice hinted that he might put the issue on the agenda for a May special session. When he announced the agenda, though, child care was not on his list.
Some lawmakers tried twice – once in committee and again on the House floor – to squeeze child care funding into the budget. The state needs to set aside $23 million for a child care subsidy program so the Department of Human Services can help cover additional assistance the Biden administration engineered for parents in that program.
In the House Finance Committee, Health and Human Resources Committee Chair Amy Summers, R-Taylor, proposed allocating the $23 million out of a bill that would add $183 million to health agency budgets for other programs.
“This isn’t about ‘do we believe that child care should be subsidized?’,” said Summers adding that instead, it is about the “companies and the families that use child care can feel confident that the provider will still be there.”
Del. Kayla Young, D-Kanawha, told The Parkersburg News and Sentinel that the state lost 265 child care slots in the three weeks leading up to the special session. Child care is a “crisis that we’re not taking care of,”she said.
During the finance committee meeting, Summers urged for the passing of her amendment.
“We need to take care of it now and relieve a lot of anxiety,” said Summers.
House Finance Vice Chair John Hardy, R-Berkeley, opposed the amendment, saying that it would “catastrophically change” the bill.
“There’s plenty of opportunity down the road to make sure we allocate the funds to the program,” said Hardy.
But Del. Larry Rowe, D-Kanawha, noted that despite the concerns raised by childcare providers during the regular session, nothing was done to help lower-income families who need this help to be able to work.
“We’ve heard all session from workforce people ‘we can’t bring mothers and fathers to come work because they’ve got to take care of their kids,” said Rowe. “Until we embrace our duty to provide decent child care to low-income folks, they will not be in the workforce.”
Summers’ committee amendment was rejected 13-10.
Then, when the health budget bill hit the House floor, lawmakers again voted down a similar amendment, 50-35.
House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay, said that the proposed amendment was not the right approach.
“The attempt to divert reserve funds that had already been agreed upon for other critical health and welfare needs simply was not the correct process for funding child care right now. And neither is allocating one-time, temporary, surplus money,” Hanshaw said through his spokesperson. “It is crucial that we create and maintain a sustainable, enrollment-based child care system that meets the needs of families and employers. I remain committed to ensuring we carve out the proper approach to achieving this significant goal many of us share.”
Funds currently covering the state’s share of subsidies run out at the end of August. Janie Cole, commissioner for the Bureau of Family Assistance, said that without the new funds, close to 2,000 families are at risk of losing their subsidies across the state.
Late last week, Summers said she hopes lawmakers will address child care issues before next year’s regular session.
“It appears there is not support to assist this industry and lower income individuals at this time,” she said in an email. “I believe giving a hand up to these families may help them find a job and eventually not need government assistance.”
