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by Phil Howard
House Bill 456 would expand the eligibility for Best Beginning Scholarships for child care workers at licensed centers. Photo: NBC Montana
TOPICS:
HELENA, Mont. — House Bill 456 would expand the eligibility for Best Beginning Scholarships for child care workers at licensed centers.
The bill passed the Montana State House and Senate and will become law if Gov. Greg Gianforte decides to sign it.
If passed, about $5.5 million in state general funds will be appropriated annually through fiscal year 2029.
A fiscal note, estimates the bill would fund services for 404 children annually, with an estimate of about 202 families in the industry– assuming an average of two kids per-worker.
The bill's sponsor, State Rep. Jonathan Karlen (D-Missoula), says the bill would help ensure child care facilities retain workers.
"Across the state, if you take a big-picture look at child care – child care slots, so the number of openings in a child care facility — meets less than half of statewide demand. The median wage of a child care worker in the state is less than $30,000, and so if you have kids of your own, oftentimes they feel like they're going to be spending more on child care then they're going to be making in child care," Karlen said.
Stephanie Brunner, the director of Fort Courage Child Care, says there are four slots available for parent-workers to receive free child care at her center.
"If we had any more than our four slots they would have to cover the cost of care. Which is close to a mortgage payment for most families, and we see how on either side that is difficult. In order to keep our doors open, we have to charge enough to pay our staff and pay the bills, but we also see how paying for that amount of child care is hard for families. So it would definitely help the two girls we have now, to where they'd be able to make that little bit more, because if it was getting covered they'd make the same rate as the rest of the staff," Brunner said.
The center's payrate is decreased from $15.50 an hour as a starting wage, to $13-$14 an hour for parents, depending on their experience.
Brunner says the funding would ensure services can resume by boosting pay for parent-employees.
