Governor Evers Requests Funds for Child Care Counts Program

Friday, July 7th, 2023 -- 10:01 AM

(Madison Lammert, USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin) Last week, Gov. Tony Evers submitted a request to the state’s Joint Committee on Finance to direct unspent federal pandemic relief funds to a program that’s helped thousands of child care businesses.

The program, Child Care Counts, has directly distributed more than $630 million in federal pandemic relief funds to 4,956 Wisconsin child care providers since it began in May 2020, according to the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families.

It has since undergone several iterations; current programming distributes funds on a monthly basis. The newly passed 2023-25 biennial state budget did not allocate funds to continuing the program, which is set to end in January 2024.

If approved, the recently submitted request would not extend Child Care Counts beyond January 2024, but would increase the total funding pool for the program's remaining months. Each provider would be affected on an individual basis, meaning that not all may see an increase in their monthly funding, DCF Communications Director Gina Paige explained.

She explained the request is threefold: First, the request acknowledges DCF will allocate unspent federal relief dollars that were distributed under the Child Care and Development Block Grant program to Child Care Counts.

Paige said the finance committee approved this last year, and that DCF is merely acknowledging its intent to follow though on giving the underspend to Child Care Counts. Paige said DCF will not know how much funding will be available until later this year.

Second, the request asks that $11 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding that was originally allocated for, but has not been spent on, the Wisconsin Shares Child Care Subsidy Program be put toward Child Care Counts.

And last, Evers is asking that about $2 million in unspent ARPA funds slated for a previous fiscal year be used to continue administration of Child Care Counts through its end. Paige said this would include the personnel costs associated with running the program, technological enhancements and more.

The joint committee has until mid-July to meet on the matter, Paige said. If the committee does not meet by the deadline, it is assumed the request is approved and DCF will go forward with spending what it outlined in the proposal, she said.

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