What's the status of child care, workforce proposals? Here are five things to know.
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MADISON – A Senate committee this week held a public hearing for Republicans' proposals to address the state's child care challenges, a month after the Assembly passed them amid opposition from Democrats and providers.
Similar to a hearing in early September, multiple child care providers from across the state attended the hearing in Madison to testify, mostly in opposition to the bills.
"Seeing the room as full as it is today obviously makes a statement," said committee chair Sen. Jesse James, R-Altoona. "Collectively, we can bring viable, possible solutions for all of us to benefit from when it comes to taking care of our children."
Sen. LaTonya Johnson, D-Milwaukee, said that while she is "thrilled to see that the Legislature is interested in trying to do more for child care," she said the bills concerned her based on her experience as a former group and family child care provider and owner.
"I am confident that these bills are well-intended because I have confidence in my colleagues sitting around this table. I know that these bills are coming from the heart," she said. "I just believe that there is more research that should be done in order to make sure that these bills don’t do more harm than good."
Rep. Joy Goeben, R-Hobart, also a former child care provider, said her bills were not meant to solve all the problems in child care, but give "more flexibility to our providers" and "(support) administrators, owners-operators as the ultimate decision-maker."
Here are five takeaways from Wednesday's second hearing on the child care bills, where they stand in the Legislature and the status of related proposals that have attracted attention from providers and parents in Wisconsin.
Child care providers still mostly oppose regulatory changes
Several child care providers testified at the hearing that the regulatory changes could worsen burnout and lead to more staffing challenges, in addition to creating safety problems.
Deanne Patten, the owner of Firehouse Friends Childcare Center in Stanley, said nearly all of her 33 employees have informed her they would quit or leave the industry if they had to take care of more children.
“I do see where you are thinking more children in a classroom would bring in more money to help the child care center afford a higher staff wage," Patten said. "The challenge of not having enough square footage currently would require remodeling our current child care programs to even meet the requirement of a higher ratio. It would not be developmentally appropriate to have more children in a classroom the way it is, and the mental health of the staff would significantly (decrease)."
Officials with the state Department of Children and Families testified that bills related to 16-year-old employees and staff-to-child ratios would present safety concerns and put Wisconsin out of line with national accrediting agencies and most neighboring states. The agency said they were not consulted before the bills were introduced.
Republican bill authors have stressed that the changes would be optional, not required, for providers. A few owners have said they would appreciate flexibility in their operations.
"In the end, it is the choice of providers to decide to move in this direction," said Sen. Joan Ballweg, R-Markesan.
Assembly already passed the bills among party lines
Wednesday's hearing in a Senate committee comes after the Assembly passed the six bills a month ago. No Democrats voted for the proposals and one Republican, Rep. Scott Allen of Waukesha, voted against two of them.
The Republican bills would adjust staff-to-child ratios to match local school districts' ratios and boost the maximum group size in group centers.
Another bill would allow 16-year-olds to take on more roles, though an amendment to the bill specifies that in order for these younger employees to provide sole supervision to children, a qualified teacher must be on the premises. One provider from Marshfield testified in favor, explaining that she had a highly qualified 16-year-old employee but could not count her in ratios.
More: New GOP bills hope to alleviate Wisconsin's child care crisis. But how?
The proposals would also create a new category of regulated child care businesses — "large family child care centers" — that would allow licensed providers who operate out of their homes to start caring for larger groups of children, depending on the ages and number of employees.
Another would allow certified family providers to care for more children not related to them, though the total number would still be limited to six.
Other bills would establish a loan program for child care center renovations for licensed providers, and amendments to the bills require submitting a business plan and financial forecast. One provider testified in support of that bill Wednesday.
Another bill would allow parents and families to deduct up to $10,000 in contributions to a child care savings account each year from state income taxes — a proposal Democrats said would not give families immediate relief.
Even if Senate approves proposals, Evers is likely to veto them
Even if the committee approves the bills and they pass the Republican-controlled state Senate to head to Gov. Tony Evers, the Democratic governor is unlikely to sign them.
"Legislation that could reduce the quality of care for our kids fails to keep child care center doors open tomorrow, and provides no immediate help to make child care more affordable for working families simply will not cut it," Evers spokeswoman Britt Cudaback previously said.
When asked by reporters about the bills shortly after they passed the Assembly, Evers said Republicans "think they know better than the people that are working in these organizations."
"I'd love to meet with them and talk about (child care). But at this point in time, it's clear that they've taken the absolute worst way to make this industry thrive the way it should," he said.
Child Care Counts got more funding — but half of original amount
Democrats and providers have consistently pushed to extend funding for Child Care Counts, a pandemic-era program that helped keep centers open in an unstable economy. Republicans rejected continuing the funding throughout this summer's budget process.
Evers on Monday sidestepped the need for Republican support and announced he would funnel $170 million in "emergency funding" to keep the program operating at current levels through June 2025, rather than running out of funding by January 2024.
But the amount is half of what Evers and Democrats previously wanted: $340 million. The original amount was a centerpiece of Evers' special session plan, which Republicans sent to a Senate committee that held a hearing on the package last week.
Sen. Rachael Cabral-Guevara, R-Appleton, said the governor's announcement is one-time funding and asked DCF about long-term improvements to the child care industry. Both the department and a Republican bill author expressed support for getting more employers involved with helping parents pay for child care.
"There's a lot of businesses that are not sustainable, but they just don't get more money," Cabral-Guevara said. Providers said that child care is a public good, unlike other industries that have received government funding.
Senate passed its own workforce, child care plan Tuesday
While Child Care Counts will now receive some funding, Senate Republicans scrapped most of Evers' original plan and instead proposed cutting income taxes by $2 billion and expanding a tax credit parents may use to pay for child care costs.
The new bill seeks once again to reduce the second-highest income tax rate from 5.3% to 4.4%, lowering taxes for individuals earning between $27,630 and $304,170 and for married couples earning between $36,840 and $405,550 per year.
Republicans passed the plan in the Senate on Tuesday. The Assembly still has to take it up before it could go to Evers, who vetoed the same tax cut for that bracket of earners earlier this summer.
Madison Lammert of the USA Today Network-Wisconsin contributed to this report.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Five things to know about child care, workforce proposals in Wisconsin
