$170 million to ‘Child Care Counts’ provides relief for now

MOSINEE, Wis. (WSAW) - On Monday morning, Governor Tony Evers announced a $170 million funding towards child care throughout Wisconsin. The plan is to use federal aid to keep the pandemic-era ‘Child Care Counts’ program up and running through June 2025.

The $170 million in funds toward child care in Wisconsin is a breath of fresh air. But the road to get there has been a tough pill to swallow because of a lack of accessibility and affordability.

“Because of the potential loss of the child care counts dollars, we’ve seen a significant increase in what providers are charging for childcare,” says Kelly Borchardt, Executive Director, Childcaring.

Now with help on it’s way, the relief to child care providers and their staff is significant.

“Most childcare programs can’t even offer health insurance, and that’s very upsetting and disturbing,” says Borchardt. “So they can continue to use funding to support their staff members to continue to purchase equipment, toys, and even food.”

Not only will the money help child care programs, but parents, too.

“I think that the funding will help parents to be able to access care and keep care affordable for families,” says Borchardt. “Working parents need quality childcare to continue working. They need to know that their children are in safe places while they are working.”

While there is no single fix in solving child care, Borchardt, the Executive Director of Childcaring, a child care information resource in Mosinee, WI, says a conversation can go a long way.

“Public health, school systems, legislators of business people, we all need to be sitting down and really discussing what we think are long investments into childcare. and what do the providers need the most?” says Borchardt.

Borchardt encourages anyone who has an interest in becoming a childcare provider, or is just searching for child care in general, to reach out to Childcaring. For more information, click here.

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