Governor Tony Evers is traveling across Wisconsin, and along with Democratic lawmakers, continues to push for state money to help child care providers.
The Governor is also warning the state’s economy could suffer if child care centers don’t get this support.
Governor Evers proposed $340 million to continue the federal Child Care Counts program as part of his recent budget. Republicans on the legislature’s budget-writing committee deleted it, but with his line-item vetoes, the Governor has been able to restore a small amount of the money he proposed for the program.
Child Care Counts started as COVID-relief aid from the federal government in spring of 2020, but it included a time-limit. State officials say $330 million of the pandemic funding continues to support more than 4 thousand child care providers in an effort to keep the doors open, recruit and retain qualified staff, and provide high-quality care for children. The federal program ends in January, 2023.
The Governor says families in Wisconsin will be hurt if parents aren’t able to work because care for their children is unaffordable and inaccessible.