Smith applauds release of $200 million for child care, urges lasting solutions for working families
Yesterday, April 16, the State Budget Committee (SBC) approved the augmentation of $200 million to the Financial Responsibility and Opportunity Growth (FROG) Fund for the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) voucher program. State Rep. Vernon G. Smith (D-Gary) released the following statement:
"This is great news for Indiana's parents who have struggled to find affordable, quality child care. Our families are feeling the weight of the cost-of-living crisis. According to the Indiana Chamber, families are spending an average of $678 per month for one child’s care. That’s a rent or mortgage payment.
“In Lake County, the situation has become particularly dire as population growth outpaces the expansion of licensed providers. I hope that increased CCDF enrollment will ensure our parents can go to work knowing their kids are in good hands. I celebrate this step forward and the real difference it will make in the lives of our growing families.
"However, Indiana’s child care crisis did not emerge on its own. The Republican supermajority created the circumstances that necessitated this emergency funding. Our leaders have had ample opportunity to address the provider shortage and lower costs for families.
"Instead, Braun cut reimbursement rates last September. The result pushed thousands of families onto the waitlist and forced hundreds of providers to close. A simple, one-time infusion of funding will not reopen these providers. Studies from the National Women's Law Center show that child care supply takes years to rebuild after disruption, meaning families feel the consequences long after a cut is reversed.
"The $200 million is, in no small part, an effort to extinguish a fire that Braun himself helped ignite. While this investment will increase CCDF access, it does not address our deeper structural gaps. Indiana needs permanent, structural investments in child care, not a one-time payment to put out a self-started fire.”