Child care support key in state's stability

Indiana’s child care system serves as critical support for the state’s economy. It is also under enormous strain.

Wait lists, caps on enrollment for vulnerable children, an end to child care referral supports and cuts to reimbursement rates further erode the shoreline on which Hoosiers’ economic house is built.

If, as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation has estimated, Indiana misses out on more than $4 billion annually in economic activity as a result of our child care deficiencies, we are poised to lose more in the coming years.

A recent survey from Early Learning Indiana found that providers are reporting enrollment declines, and more than three-fourths of providers have seen funding cuts for Child Care and Development Fund vouchers, the state’s largest child care subsidy for low-