Surprise federal funding cuts to the child care development block grant that funds school readiness assistance causes the Arkansas Department of Education to rethink the school readiness assistance program strategy which caused an uproar from caregivers and families across the state.
In a special legislative session on Tuesday, Sept. 30, the House Education — early childhood subcommittee, along with Department of Education Secretary Jacob Oliva, and numerous childcare providers discussed the cause and effects of the federal funding cut that happened in the last quarter of the fiscal year.
According to Oliva, there was about an 8 million dollar reduction that wasn’t anticipated for.
“This is a federal allocation … I can’t control the allocation that we get in a formula,” Oliva said.
“When we look at the current ways that we have – a wide range of reimbursements – we can’t keep funding at that level unless the state or somebody else makes a significant contribution,” he said.
Oliva estimates that roughly $80 million per year is needed to continue with the system in place.
“If this is the quality of care that the state wants to provide for all the students and families, then it’s going to take a significant state investment,” said Oliva. “Right now with the allocation we’re projected to receive, it can’t maintain that same level of service without a state investment.”
Research shows that 90% of brain development happens in the first five years of life, said Christine Eichler, President of the Arkansas Family Child Care Association and small-business owner of an in-home family childcare program in Romance, Arkansas.
“When funding is cut from this stage, we risk undermining everything the K-12 system is working to achieve,” Eichler said.
Birth through age five lays the foundation for everything that comes after, Eichler said.
“[Childcare] is an investment, not a burden. The cost of maintaining the tiered model is a commitment to child development,” said Stacey Pipkins, President-Elect of Arkansas Early Childhood Association – Central Arkansas.
Arkansas is almost double the amount of teen pregnancies than the national average, according to Hess.
“At Cradle Care, since 2006, 86% of our teen moms have graduated – 100% have graduated in the last four years,” Hess said.
Infant care is almost more than the cost of a four-year, in-state university in Arkansas, according to Hess.
“High quality child care is not babysitting,” said McKinley Hess, Executive Director of Conway Cradle Care. “It is the foundation of early education, workforce participation and community stability.”
Every provider closure means longer waitlists, parents having to leave the workforce and children losing access to early education, Hess said.
“Without childcare, businesses lose employees, productivity falls and Arkansas’ economy suffers,” Hess said.
According to Oliva, the Department of Education will delay the reduced rates of reimbursement to providers until Nov. 1 but copays were implemented Oct. 1 for families.
“Anything we can do to support any kind of investment,” Oliva said, “our agency stands willing to work side-by-side with you to make sure we can provide high quality learning environments for all of our students and families and make sure that access becomes a reality.”
