LEXINGTON, Ky. — Daycares and child care facilities around the Kentucky may soon feel the impact of the end of a federal relief grant implemented during the pandemic.
Makayla Skeans is the director of The Growing Place day care center. It’s been at the First United Methodist Church in downtown Richmond for 30 years.
It, like day care centers across the country, was significantly affected by COVID-19. The day care closed its doors for a time and concerns about families’ security and unemployment insurance for staff rose.
Thanks to a federal grant, they could focus on staying healthy, safe, and financially afloat.
“We were very uncertain there for a while and now coming back thanks to the grant we were able to pay people a little bit extra money to be able to help alleviate some of those rising costs of living.” Skeans explained.
In March 2021, Congress passed the American Rescue Plan Act.
The federal relief package provided $1.9 trillion in relief funds across the nation and $39 billion dedicated strictly to child care and stabilization.
$24 billion was set aside for the child care and development block grant, an existing subsidized program before the pandemic. It was changed to help child care centers acquire resources and rights to serve more families.
Skeans said The Growing Place took advantage of aid when they could.
“Something we did hear that kind of alleviated some of the stressors was we created an advisory committee based on staff, church, staff and parents to come up with a plan to help raise tuition enough to be able to pay her teachers but not cause such an undue hardship on the parents.”
That relief aid ended in September.
The Century Foundation, an independent public-policy research group, says that this could be dire for about 70,000 programs and 3.2 million kids could lose their spot in day care.
Policy advocates, Kentucky Voices of Hope, are among groups looking to secure a new set amount.
Director of policy, Cara Stewart says they are asking leaders for at least $2,000 to be invested per child from birth to five years old for child care.
“They know that we have significant problems with child neglect and abuse. I think they know that we’ve got workforce participation problems in Kentucky. I think they know that that is related to child care.” Stewart said.
She pointed out that 60% of Kentucky is a child care desert and that the services are pricey as these are the more impressionable times for physical and mental development.
“You know, 90% of our brain development happens at age five, so child care should be expensive because we want there to be good quality child development and we want people to be paid well to take care of our babies and our children,” Skeans explained.
Skeans said it’s their responsibility to set the foundation for growth in the future.
She added, “We provide blocks, we provide dramatic play centers, you know, enrich them in numbers and alphabets in colors.”
While the grant program has formally ended, the Growing Place says it will continue to secure core development for kids around Madison County.