Gov. Jim Justice’s special session call included one child care bill — his plan for a Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit. There’s a chance more bills might be introduced before the session continues on Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024. (Perry Bennett | West Virginia Legislative Photography)
Child care providers across West Virginia anxiously waited to see what Gov. Jim Justice would include in his special session call. They’re grappling with waning pandemic aid, uncertain state funding, staffing shortages and more.
Meanwhile, the state needs more than 20,000 child care spots for working families. Dozens of providers have closed this year due to financial challenges.
“If we don’t get the funding we need, our child care business is just going to fail. As will many centers,” said Mariah Burnley, director of Ohio Valley Child Learning Center in Wheeling.
Justice’s special session call included one child care bill: his plan for a Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit that could benefit thousands of families using child care. The special session began Sept. 30.
The bill doesn’t address child care providers’ needs or create new child care spots.
“It’s like putting a Band-Aid on your pool collapsing,” Burnley said. “This is a big issue that our state and our nation is facing and the more it is pushed to the side, the worse it gets.
Providers are feeling defeated.”
The special session bill list is expected to be expanded before lawmakers reconvene in Charleston on Sunday, Oct. 6. Some lawmakers are still hopeful that Justice will allow them to tackle child care problems by adding a handful of bills that weren’t completed during the regular session. There’s legislation that aims to create more child care spots and fully fund the state’s child care subsidy program for low-income working families.
On Tuesday, Justice, who is running for the U.S. Senate, signaled support only for his two ideas: a child care tax credit and a grant program that could help child care providers. Both proposals are still facing an uncertain future in the Republican-supermajority Legislature.
“I think this tax credit is going to cost the state of West Virginia around $4 million dollars. Will it solve a whole lot of problems? No, it probably won’t … But I think our young families need to know we’re trying,” Justice said during a virtual press briefing.
He added, “I’d like to do more, but I can’t get it through. I don’t know that I’ve got this through.”
Senate Finance Chairman Eric Tarr, R-Putnam, said that the Republican Senate caucus is still discussing child care and many other items that might be considered in the special session.
“We have additional caucuses before Sunday evening when we return from recess,” he said. “I believe there could be a majority favoring the governor’s proposed child care tax credit. Aside from that, I don’t believe there is yet broad agreement on additional child care legislation as of [Tuesday] evening.”
House Democrats have said they’ll support the child care tax credit. Del. Kayla Young, D-Kanawha, would like lawmakers to have the opportunity to consider other child care bills, including legislation that would expand a state tax credit for businesses that develop onsite child care.
“The House, including House leadership, has strongly talked about the importance of child care,” she said. “The House is still yelling that, ‘We need to do something,’ but we’re not hearing any action from the Senate or the governor’s office.”
Young called on Justice to prioritize funding the state’s child care subsidy during the special session.
The Department of Human Services is using Temporary Assistance for Needy Families dollars to pay for the program after a recent federal funding rule change left the state with at least a $34 million shortfall for the program. About 15,000 children last year used the program, which requires parents to be working or enrolled in some form of education.
Without legislative funding, Young said 2,000 children will be removed from the program.
“From what I’ve gathered, the Legislature is OK with that. I’m not OK with that,” she said, noting that lawmakers have been working to understand the “complex web” of state child care funding in the newly-created DoHS.
Bunley’s child care center serves 70 children; 50% of those kids use the state’s child care subsidy program. She stressed that the subsidy amount must increase as inflation has impacted operating costs.
“We lose money taking those children, but we realize those are the ones who need to be In our care,” she said. “Private pay families have to pay that difference. Our price is high right now. That’s the only way we can increase our revenue.”
Justice’s proposed Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit would create a state tax credit equal to 50% of the allowable federal child and dependent care credit. For a family that makes more than $43,000 annually, the tax credit would likely equal $300 for one child or $600 for two or more children.
The governor is still working with lawmakers to get support for his child care grant program, which could be added to the amended special session call.
“What I wanted to have happen is still out there … put $20 million out of our surplus dollars — one time money — of that toward our child care agencies and work it through a grant program that works through Workforce [West Virginia] and work it on a merit-based deal,” he said. “I still think we’re going to get it through.”
Jennifer Trippett, owner of Cubby’s Child Care Center in Bridgeport, described Justice’s idea for a grant program as “frustrating” while child care providers wait to see what will happen with other bills.
“We won’t have child care available in this state to participate in this pilot program if funding isn’t provided for enrollment and subsidy increases,” she said. “Why waste $20 million when we can’t afford to keep our programs open?”
She added, “It’s disappointing that the governor doesn’t seem to understand the critical crisis in child care and how it impacts families, businesses and the economy.”
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