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Child care centers see low enrollment months after state pauses aid program

The state paused sign-ups for the Idaho Child Care Program in August because of a projected budget shortfall.

BOISE, Idaho — Two months after Idaho paused sign-ups for an affordable child care program, some Treasure Valley child care centers tell KTVB the impacts are worse than expected.  

"I don't think I totally grasped the full extent of how bad the ramifications would be," said Rebekah Grindstaff, Care House Learning Center development and operations director. 

Grindstaff said many centers, like Care House, are dealing with low fall enrollment because families who would have applied for the Idaho Child Care Program cannot afford to pay full price. 

Last fall, she said Care House had 15 new kids. This fall, they have five. 

The ICCP is federally funded through the Child Care and Development Block Grant. It serves working families that have children under 13-years-old as well as kids older than 13 if the child has a disability. 

The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare said it made the decision to pause the program in late August because of a projected $15 million budget shortfall. It also delayed benefit hikes for families. 

KTVB reported the department claimed it was not getting enough money from the federal government to keep up with how much the program costs. 

Health and Welfare denied an interview with KTVB for this story. But its director said in a letter to lawmakers it "recognizes decisions like these are never easy," and they had to "act now" to get a grasp on a forecasted shortfall. 

Grindstaff pushed back and said the state did not steward its money for the program responsibly. 

"I don't think you can afford not to fund this program," she said. "[It's] heartbreaking because the ripple effects of this change are going to be felt throughout the state of Idaho, not just this year, but for the entire lifetime of the kids that aren't getting to access childcare." 

Robert Sanchez, Idaho Association for the Education for Young Children executive director, said there is never an ideal time for a temporary pause on such an important program to so many Idaho families, especially those in rural communities. 

"The initial reaction ... there was a lot of anxiety and uncertainty, and to some degree, there still is today," he said.

Sanchez said everyone would be in a better position had the state given more than a 48-hour notice. 

"We have families that are just struggling every day to make ends meet, and providers that are just doing incredible work to keep their doors open," he said. "And so, when you look back to say, what could they have done differently? I think the only thing is perhaps given more [notice]." 

A Department of Health and Welfare spokesperson told KTVB via email they are working on figuring out when they can unpause the program but until they know that date, there is not much to share. 

The department did not talk to KTVB when it first reported the pause in August, either. This time, the spokesperson said they will reach out in the next couple of weeks when they have more information. 

"I'd wanted to unpause it as soon as possible," Sanchez said. "But I understand and appreciate that there are conditions and criteria that drive [their decision], and I would hope that we can get there sooner rather than later." 

Meantime, he said Idaho AEYC has various resources available to struggling child care centers and families. 

About 7,800 children are now enrolled in the program, according to the letter. Once enrollment opens back up, the department said it plans to cut the income cutoff for eligibility to 130% of the federal poverty limit, down from the 175%.

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