New GOP bills hope to alleviate Wisconsin's child care crisis. But how?
A recent Republican package of bills concerning child care in Wisconsin has sparked a flurry of reactions.
The proposed legislation changes state regulations to boost providers' capacity, create a revolving loan fund for providers to tap for renovations and other physical improvements and creates a child care reimbursement account.
The bill's authors say the measures would benefit both the industry and the families that rely upon it, but not everyone is convinced.
The GOP’s plan does not include extending Child Care Counts, which currently provides stabilization payments to support child care providers on a monthly basis. The program has been funded through federal pandemic relief funds, but that will end in 2024.
A Wisconsin Early Childhood Action Needed survey distributed to child care providers found that, for nearly half its respondents, Child Care Counts comprises between 20% and 30% of their revenue. Providers have long been calling for an investment to continue the program, along with Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and other members of the Democratic Party.
Evers may veto the GOP’s bills even if they pass in the Assembly and Senate. Evers spokesperson Britt Cudaback previously told USA TODAY NETWORK-WISCONSIN the proposed legislation “simply will not cut it.”
But what exactly would the bills change if they were signed into law?
One bill would create a child care reimbursement account; contributions would not be taxed by the state
One bill would allow Wisconsinites to set up a reimbursement account, which the bill authors liken to a health care flexible spending account, to help pay for child care expenses. The account holder, who must be the parent or a legal guardian of a child younger than 13, and others (with the account holder’s permission) could contribute to the account without having their contributions taxed by the state, starting in tax year 2024.
Wisconsinites could not open such an account or contribute to one if they claim certain other tax benefits under current law.
The bill's authors, Rep. Joy Goeben, R-Hobart and Sen. Romaine Quinn, R-Cameron, wrote in a memo that the child care reimbursement account will make child care more affordable for Wisconsin families by "lowering their state tax liability."
More: 4 takeaways about the high cost of child care in Wisconsin and nationwide
Related: The new Wisconsin family? 1.7 kids, no picket fence and child care costs more than college
Licensed child care programs would have a new loan option
Another bill provides further details on a “revolving loan fund” Rep. Jessie Rodriguez, R-Oak Creek, mentioned would be created when Republicans on the Joint Committee on Finance voted not to include Child Care Counts in the state budget.
The bill hopes to establish interest-free loans for licensed child care providers to make facility renovations or improvements.
The bill specifies 60% of the loans must go to licensed family child care programs — meaning child care businesses operated inside a provider's home. Each licensed family child care provider could receive up to $30,000.
The other 40% of the loans would be allocated to child care facilities not based in a provider's home, such as licensed child care centers. These programs could receive up to $100,000 each.
Younger workers could fill certain child care jobs
With one of the GOP's bills, Wisconsinites could see more — and possibly younger — teens working in child care centers.
The bill would change the age at which someone could be an assistant child care teacher or school-age group leader to 16, provided they have specific qualifications.
Currently, assistant child care teachers may be 17 or 18 years old, if they meet such qualifications. A school-age group leader must be 18 and also meet specific qualifications.
Centers could see larger group sizes for some ages, changes to staff-to-child ratios
The maximum number of children in groups and the maximum number of children per child care worker in child care centers depends on the age of the child. The younger the child, the smaller the group size and the fewer children a child care worker can care for at a time.
One bill proposes changing staff-to-child ratios to allow more children per child care worker for children ages 2½ and older. These children could also see larger group sizes.
The bill also would change some of the age brackets these regulations are based on.
At a legislative hearing Wednesday, providers and industry experts opposed this bill, along with the one that would change the age one could be an assistant child care teacher to 16, due to safety concerns. Others valued the choice these changes would give programs.
The bill's supporters also want to allow group centers to adjust their staff-to-child ratio to reflect the average teacher-to-pupil ratio of the school district they are in for each respective age group, should the teacher-to-pupil ratio be lower than the new child care ratio rules.
There would be a new designation for larger family child care programs
Currently, a licensed family child care may care for four to eight children younger than 7; the exact number depends on the ages of the children.
In one bill, the GOP proposes creating a "large family child care center" designation that could care for up to 12 children. A family child care center would be required to have two employees if it served nine to 12 children, under the bill. The number of children a large family child care may care for also would depend on the ages of the children enrolled.
Certified family child care providers may now care for more children unrelated to them
Regulated family child care programs can either be licensed or certified, the latter being voluntary and having slightly different requirements.
In a certified family child care, providers can care for up to three children younger than 7 who are not related to them, with a maximum total group size of six.
One of the GOP bills aims to alter this rule so that the number of children a certified provider serves is not based on their relation to the provider. If the bill passes, a certified family provider would still be limited to six children, but any number of these children could be unrelated to the provider.
Madison Lammert covers child care and early education across Wisconsin as a Report for America corps member based at The Appleton Post-Crescent. To contact her, email mlammert@gannett.com or call 920-993-7108. Please consider supporting journalism that informs our democracy with a tax-deductible gift to Report for America.
This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: GOP plan on how to ease Wisconsin's child care crisis explained
