Laura Shimenga is a mother of three boys and a public school teacher in southern West Virginia. With no family nearby, she relies on child care for her sons while she teaches.
This year she learned that the state could unsubscribe 2,000 families were shut out of the child care program because funding fell compact by more than $34 million. Shimenga, who was considered an crucial worker during the COVID-19 pandemic, could be one of the parents affected by the change.
“I never imagined doing anything else in life but being an elementary school teacher,” she said. “If you throw our already very strained child care situation into even more chaos and cause even more damage, I will have to quit my job, stay home and stop contributing to our economy.”
Shimenga met with parents, child care providers and stakeholders at the West Virginia Capitol on Sunday to urge lawmakers to address the state’s child care funding issues.
The federal government recently mandated that states compensate child care centers that serve children under state subsidy programs based on enrollment, not attendance.
Human Services Department executives said You apply federal emergency aid funds to cover the increased costs, but have not presented a long-term financing plan. In 2023, approximately 15,000 families in West Virginia used the Child Care Assistance Program.
Gov. Jim Justice said the fleeting funds should last until the end of the year, and the administration plans to give families and child care centers 60 days’ notice when the money runs out. Daycare centers will likely remove those children from their rosters and, with it, the state subsidies.
“We are disappointed to see another deadline to address the child care problem pass. A temporary transfer of funds within the Department of Health without a permanent solution from our state legislature signals to the child care industry that we are willing to shut them down,” said Del. Kayla Young, a Kanawha Democrat who has led the bipartisan effort to reform child care in the legislature.
Childcare providers also stressed that the amount they receive per child is not enough to cover competitive salaries and rising food prices.
Jennifer Trippett is the Owner of Cubby’s Child Care Center in Bridgeport, the largest licensed daycare center in the state.
“Childcare workers like me are doing everything we can to keep our doors open,” she said. “The payments we receive from the Department of Human Services have not been increased in years… We are at a tipping point.”
More than 700 childcare places were lost this year as centres were closed for financial reasons. At the same time, more than 20,000 childcare places were are required for working families.
The department has not released any information since the April alarm, child care providers said. West Virginia Watch sent several emails with questions about the funding crash that were ignored.
Marissa Johnson’s son attends A Place to Grow, which she says was the only certified daycare center in Fayette County for 30 years.
“They have a waiting list that’s miles long, and we were lucky to even get a spot,” Johnson said. “So if our daycare closes, we’ll be thrown into a group of other parents trying to get into the few daycare centers that are left. We’ll probably have to move to another county to get child care.”
She continued: “If either I or my husband had to stay at home and couldn’t work, it would be financially devastating for us as we need both of our incomes to pay the mortgage.”
The rally coincided with the return of lawmakers to the Capitol. Interim meeting in August.
Lawmakers had expected a special session to address child care issues, including plan for a tax credit for child care and dependent care. As of Sunday evening, Justice had not called the legislators to a meeting because there were ongoing disagreements over the governor’s proposed tax cuts.
“We shouldn’t get bogged down in the details. The money is either there or it isn’t, and we should give the department the ability to spend money to meet this urgent need,” said Sen. Mike Oliverio (R-Monongalia). “The amount of income a person has should not determine whether their child can learn and grow in a safe place.”
This month, three daycare centers in the Morgantown area closed, Oliverio added.
“There are a few others hanging by a thread,” he said.
Republican and Democratic lawmakers are concerned about the state’s low labor force participation ratesaid to address the state’s child care crisis was a priority during the regular session. But when budget problems arose, none of the bipartisan bills was never put to a vote in the House of Representatives or the Senate, including a measure to address the subsidy problems.
“The Legislature knows what we need to do, from increasing payments to providers to helping businesses finance and expand child care for their employees. Now is the time to do it,” Young said.
