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FRANKFORT 鈥� In a year when Kentucky鈥檚 child care providers are looking to the legislature for a financial lifeline, a Senate committee heard an overview Tuesday of what its chairman called 鈥渙ne of the most pressing issues鈥� facing the General Assembly .

Several members of the Senate Families and Children Committee, including chairman Danny Carroll, said they are committed to finding solutions to the .

With federal COVID-era assistance coming to an end, Kentucky鈥檚 child care providers are hoping the legislature will subsidize the industry to avoid closures, pay cuts and increased tuition for parents, the .

Gov. Andy Beshear, in a, said he wants to spend $141 million over the next two years on the industry. But advocates said this figure falls short of what is needed.

Beshear鈥檚 desire to spend $172 million to begin funding universal preschool for Kentucky 4-year-olds also concerns industry experts. That鈥檚 because child care centers rely on children of that age to make profits, as the teacher-to- student ratios can be larger than they can be with babies.

Sarah Vanover, a policy and research director for Kentucky Youth Advocates, told the committee that 鈥渦niversal pre-k is a great option鈥� but 鈥渋t is a long-term goal.鈥�

鈥淩ight now the priority is maintaining child care, and not waiting for child care to collapse,鈥� she said.

Carroll, R-Benton, president and CEO of , whose programs include a child care center, seemed to agree, urging caution on Beshear鈥檚 proposals for universal preschool while also stressing the value of early childhood education.

Carroll said a disadvantage of Beshear鈥檚 plan for 4-year-olds is that it would be tied to the traditional school schedule and unable to meet the needs of many families.

Sen. Stephen Meredith, R-Leitchfield, said 鈥減ublic schools are not currently in a position to take on additional responsibilities鈥� by adding pre-kindergarten instruction.

Meredith also said: 鈥淐ertainly this matter has our attention. 鈥� I think we鈥檒l try our best to come up with some resolution. But I think we have to understand that this is not going to be a one-year, two-year proposition 鈥� that we have to build this infrastructure.鈥�

Carroll said Kentucky has a 鈥済reat foundation鈥� in child care, but it鈥檚 鈥渢ime for the state to step up and to make the investment that we need鈥� to sustain it in the future. He stressed that access to child care is critical to workforce participation.

鈥淧reschool, early childhood education, it鈥檚 about child care, but it鈥檚 about education. It鈥檚 about workforce. The importance of this is no less 鈥� and, I would argue, that it鈥檚 greater  鈥� than what it is for primary, secondary, post secondary.鈥�

He added: 鈥淯ntil we start looking at early childhood education for what it is: education and part of our system, and we start funding it in that manner, we鈥檙e not going to make any progress.鈥�

is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kentucky Lantern maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jamie Lucke for questions: [email protected]. Follow Kentucky Lantern on and .

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