Childcare advocates in Alaska are calling on the state Legislature to retain $14 million in funding to address various problems in a sector currently in crisis.
The House passed its version of the operating budget last month, which had $7.7 million in grants for childcare providers and $6.1 million in childcare subsidies for families. However, advocates have urged officials to include the same appropriations in the current draft budget.
Alaska Childcare in Crisis
The state's childcare sector has been plagued by various problems, such as low wages, long waiting lists, and high tuition costs. A quarter of all childcare providers in Alaska have already shut down over the past three years.
The Legislature approved $7.5 million in subsidies for childcare providers over the past two years. The money was used to help childcare providers with employee salaries and operational costs.
However, the dire fiscal outlook of Alaska has forced state lawmakers to be critical of any sort of spending. Anchorage Republican Sen. Cathy Giessel said during a media conference on Tuesday that the main problem right now is that there is not enough money, according to the Anchorage Daily News.
The senator, who is known to be a supporter of childcare subsidies, added that advocates should not give up hope regarding the situation. Giessel suggested that childcare funding could be a part of future negotiations as the budget moves through the legislative process.
A conference committee typically hammers out differences between the versions of the bill in the House and Senate after they both pass their own. This makes it so that the same budget bill can pass through both chambers.
Stabilizing the Sector
On the other hand, Anchorage Democratic Rep. Zack Fields said that the Legislature not approving childcare subsidies would be "indefensible." The lawmaker added that people cannot expect a stable sector if funding is cut, Yahoo News reported.
Bright Beginnings was once one of Alaska's largest childcare providers but it was forced to close its doors in Anchorage in late April. The CEO of thread Alaska, Stephanie Berglund, told lawmakers last month that the development would mean that 125 families would lose care.
The situation comes as the cost of childcare in the United States has become too expensive for most families to afford. In order to make things work, families are taking out lines of credit, working more than one job, or commuting hours to bring their kids to daycare, as per The Guardian.
