Advocates: Reynolds' child care bill could hurt other programs

Axios

01-04-2025

One of Gov. Kim Reynolds' priorities this legislative session is helping alleviate Iowa's child care crisis — but some local groups say her strategies may come at a cost for other early childhood programs.
Why it matters: While Iowa is one of the best states for kids to access preschool, some families can't take advantage of it due to preschool programs that only run half-days or don't offer transportation to child care afterward, according to state officials.
Reynolds' proposal aims to address that problem by helping fund more full-time day care facilities for 4-year-olds.
Driving the news: Reynolds has proposed a new $16 million program that could provide grants for preschool and early childhood centers up to $100,000 annually to provide full-time child care.
The money would come from existing funding used for Early Childhood Iowa — a current state program that helps families with kids, prenatal to 5 years old.
State of play: ECI gets about $27 million annually from the state.
The program helps fund local programs and nonprofits that are already doing specific early childhood work for their areas.
If $16 million is allocated elsewhere, ECI won't have enough funds to help all of those programs. And the grants for the governor's program are restricted to helping 4-year-olds, which would exclude many of ECI's benefactors.
"The governor is not wrong to want to increase money for child care — to see transportation as being a real barrier to accessing child care today," Rob Barron, a board member for Polk County's ECI board, says. "The solution is not to break something that's already working."
Zoom in: EMBARC, a nonprofit that works with refugees from Myanmar, receives $100K annually from ECI, says executive director Abigail Sui.
That money is used to fund a program that helps refugee parents navigate the school system in their native language. It helps about 500 clients each year, Sui says.
It also helps fund a weekly walk-in program where parents can ask for help with everything from reading mail to doctors' appointments to school registration. But Sui is unsure they could continue without ECI funds.
What they're saying: Reynolds has said this bill is important because of the educational benefits kids get from preschool.
The city of Des Moines sponsored an all-day preschool program last year and found it dramatically improved kids' readiness for kindergarten, ranging from reading and math to social and emotional skills.
"It's about more than convenience. It's about offering our children the educational foundation they need while giving parents peace of mind that their children are cared for throughout the work day," Reynolds said in a statement.
Plus: The bill also proposes making permanent a pilot program that provided free child care for child care workers — an initiative that was universally supported.