Thousands of WV kids could lose child care. State mum on plans to fix it.

A girl plays in the sand at King's Daughters Child Care Center in Wheeling. The center is one of many that are struggling financially in West Virginia. (Submitted photo)

C hild care in West Virginia is facing a funding cliff, according to lawmakers and advocates, that could push thousands of kids from child care assistance by next month.

As the crisis looms, the governor and state Department of Human Services haven’t offered concrete information about how they’ll fix the problem. State lawmakers are doubtful about whether it will be dealt with in an August special session.

Pandemic-era funding had allowed child care providers that serve families receiving state assistance to be paid based on enrollment in their programs rather than daily attendance so they could stabilize their income. The federal government has now mandated that change.

State lawmakers estimated that DoHS needs around $30 million by the end of August to fully fund child care due to that change. DoHS told lawmakers earlier this year that they’d need an additional $23 million for it.

On Tuesday, Gov. Jim Justice didn’t give a clear answer about whether DoHS would fund the shortfall or if he’d ask lawmakers to allocate money for the problem in a possible August special session.

“We’ll be absolutely sure that it’s being addressed and being spent in the right way,” he said. “We’ll get to the bottom of it … I would just stay tuned and let us handle that.”

DoHS did not respond to questions for this story.

Senate Finance Chairman Eric Tarr, R-Putnam, said he hadn’t heard from DoHS leaders regarding the need for additional funds. “They’ve not brought a shortfall to me,” he said.

Without a financial investment, Del. Kayla Young, D-Kanawha, estimated that 2,000 children will lose eligibility for state child care assistance.

This is probably the most disheartened I’ve been.

– Jamie Remp, director of King's Daughters Child Care Center

“Unless we fund it by Sept. 1, there’s a good chance that folks will get cut off, and we don’t want that to happen,” she said. “It’s probably people who can’t afford child care on their own, and it probably puts their jobs into question.”

Brian Dayton, vice president of policy and advocacy for the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce, echoed Young’s concerns.

“The concern we have is that if the funding isn’t provided, then they’ll reduce eligibility to cover the cost. This needs dealt with, and this needs dealt with now,” he said.

Nearly 26,000 kids in West Virginia already can’t access child care, and centers have shut down this summer while waiting — and asking – for DoHS and lawmakers to address the reimbursement issue.

Owlet Childcare Center in Fairmont closed this week after trying to stay afloat for three months. The center served 30 families.

Tammy Cole , the center’s director, said 80% of those families were using the state’s child care assistance program and the reimbursement method hadn’t been financially sustainable.

“We’ve done everything we can to keep our doors open, but without continued support, we simply can’t sustain the rising costs. The children and families we serve deserve better, and it breaks my heart to know we can no longer be there for them,” she said.

Jamie Remp is director of King’s Daughters Child Care Center, a nonprofit in Wheeling.

The center has a waitlist of 170 kids ages two and under, and she raised money to add on more classrooms. Yet, she loses around $12,000 a month as she pays for staff salaries, wipes, learning supplies and more.

“ It’s not a profitable business. What I need to charge my families is probably about $100 more a week to break even on the cost of care for their child,” Remp said.

“I’m still raising money, but I feel overwhelmed,” she continued. “This is probably the most disheartened I’ve been.”

Justice child care tax credit faces uncertain future in Legislature

Many of West Virginia’s child care issues were expected to be dealt with in a stack of bipartisan bills rolled out during the regular legislative session earlier this year, including one that would have mandated the enrollment-based attendance reimbursement. Due to mid-session budget drama, none of the measures went up for a vote in the House of Delegates or Senate.

Now, Justice’s central idea on the issue — a Child and Dependent Care tax credit for families already using child care — doesn’t address a shortage of day care spots or financially stabilizing the industry.

His plan would allow 16,300 eligible families to claim up to 50% of the allowable federal tax credit.

Lawmakers didn’t take up Justice’s idea during the regular session; the governor hoped they’d approve it in an August special session.

“We’ve got to do this. West Virginia needs young families,” Justice stressed during a virtual press conference earlier this week. “I don’t know why we keep putting our heads in the sand about this. We’re going to fight for it as hard as we possibly can, and hopefully the Legislature will see the wisdom to go along.”

Tarr couldn’t comment on whether the Senate would approve Justice’s child care tax credit, saying that neither he nor his colleagues had heard from the governor about the idea. He doubted lawmakers would vote on it in August.

“It’s hard to convince me to do tax credits — any given tax credits for any purpose. You have everyone else pay for it,” he said. “[Child care] is not an easy one to solve. This is one that hits home on almost every legislator up here because we all have family members who have the issue or we’re employers … who have lost employees because of this issue.

“I haven’t heard a really good solution other than the feds trying their enrollment [reimbursement] plan.”

House Speaker Roger Hanshaw said he “strongly supports” expanding child care as the father of two young daughters whose mother also works a full-time job.

“The details of what the governor would like to propose have not yet been shared with the Legislature, so it’s too early to say with confidence whether or not it would fit into a sustainable, enrollment-based child care system that meets the needs of families and employers, just as it’s too early to confidently say what that would look like in terms of funding,” said Hanshaw, R-Clay.

While Young said Justice’s idea was “good,” she noted it only helped families who are already using child care. West Virginia parents pay around $800 a month per child for care.

“It’s great to get money back in the pockets of families, but it’s too late in the process where people need it,” she said, adding that the governor’s plan wouldn’t create any needed child care spots.

Child care shortage affecting state’s workforce

The West Virginia Chamber of Commerce has linked the child care shortfall to West Virginia’s low workforce participation rate (the second lowest in the country behind Mississippi). “What we’re hearing from our members is that they can’t get workers because of the child care situation,” Dayton said.

In an effort to open up more child care spots, Dayton said the Chamber will continue to advocate for legislation that would provide 100% tax credit on the cost of operation for employers who have employee child care on or offsite. Another piece of legislation could expand a 50% tax credit for businesses that develop onsite child care that was created in 2022 legislation . The new legislation will look to bump the rate up to 100%.

“We’re open to anything that would help solve the problem best,” he said. “It’s going to be a multi-pronged approach.”

Remp hoped that the state’s child care shortage and financial problems wouldn’t continue to be pushed off. She thinks many state leaders and legislators thought of it as a “babysitting service” — not an investment into children’s education and the state’s workforce.

“I don’t know how to get the state to understand the importance of child care,” she said.

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