Eligibility for a state funded child care scholarship will expand beginning July 1. Parents and providers say changes will make the program more affordable and accessible.
Valeria Knowlton, a Helena mom of five, first applied for the Best Beginnings Scholarship in 2021 as she looked for care for her two youngest while she and her husband worked full-time.
“My kids are the most important thing in my life,” Knowlton said. “I want to find a facility I find is safe and clean and where I meet the people and I feel like I can trust in them.”
Knowlton talked about her experience at a press conference organized by the Montana Democrats who championed the policy – it was one of their few legislative wins.
Knowlton hoped Best Beginnings would help pay for care, which is comparable to college tuition. But the family’s co-pay for the scholarship grew to be just as expensive as paying out-of-pocket.
But starting July 1, a new law will take effect that caps the copay at 9% of an eligible family’s monthly income. It also expands eligibility from 150% to 185% of the federal poverty level.
Knowlton says that expansion will ease anxiety around approaching a benefits cliff as her family’s income increases.
“Our goal is always to do better, right, to try and support our family the best way we can. And so as we are moving in our careers and our income is increasing, we still need help,” Knowlton said.
The new law will also base payments from the program to child care providers on a child’s monthly enrollment rather than the number of hours the child is in care.
Jen Gursky, executive director of YWCA in Helena, says the new payment structure will provide more consistent income to the organization's child care center and stabilize its finances.
“This bill helps us do better by Montana families and it helps my business and my child care stay open.”
The bill passed the state Legislature with bipartisan support, and was signed into law by Gov. Greg Gianforte earlier this month. Some conservatives voted against it, saying its $7 million dollar annual cost is too high.
More information is available on the state health department’s website.
