In our previous blog, we mentioned Arkansas will receive $727 MILLION for child care in the next 3 years. The state drafts a spending plan. Then they ask for public comment before finalizing the plan. That’s where YOU come in. If they have plans that will work for you, they need to hear it. If plans seem “off” to you, they need to hear it.
Make your voice heard by emailing CCDFStatePlanComments@dhs.arkansas.gov.
The biggest portion of the state budget is always spent on child care assistance (vouchers) for families. This is great because all children deserve equal access to high quality care. However, programs deserve to be paid fairly to provide that care.
What to say about VOUCHERS in your email?
- You may want to applaud the state for their plan to increase voucher rates for programs for quality-rated programs. This will make quality improvements more affordable and encourage more programs to provide care to children from low-income families.
- This is also a good time to ask for a policy change that many providers want: voucher reimbursements based on enrollment rather than attendance. This policy change should be applied to our centers and our family child care homes. Again, this would stabilize budgets, increase the number of programs willing to participate in the voucher program, and increase access for children.
The more of us that share the same ideas, the stronger our voices!
Take a LITTLE BIT of TIME of time to read about policies that have a BIG IMPACT on you.
Tell state planners which ideas you like or give them alternate ideas.
Options to learn more
State draft plan for this budget (They need public input and who knows more about it than YOU?)
AECA recommendation for Equal Access/Fair Payment
AECA complete set of recommendations
Deadline to email your valuable opinions CCDFStatePlanComments@dhs.arkanas.gov Monday June 7, 2021.
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