A year after Montana lawmakers expanded a child care scholarship for low-income and working families, enrollment is falling short of expectations. New enrollment is less than half of what lawmakers estimated.
According to the state health department, about 300 new children are enrolled in the state’s expanded Best Beginnings scholarship program as of June 30.
A fiscal note attached to the program projected that more than 700 new children would be eligible for the scholarship.
Tori Sproles is executive director of the nonprofit Child Care Connections, which helps administer the scholarship. She says the program isn’t catching all families that struggle to afford care.
“We’re still missing that mid-level income,” said Sproles
Legislation passed in 2023 aims to address the lack of available and affordable child care in Montana by reworking the three-decades-old Best Beginnings scholarship. Nearly 5,000 children are enrolled.
The bill expanded eligibility to families that earn 185% of the federal poverty level, or about $57,000 a year for a family of four. It capped copays at 9% of an eligible family’s monthly income.
Sproles says there are a few reasons enrollment may not be meeting expectations. She says the paperwork can be cumbersome for families, and the scholarship can only be used for qualified child care facilities.
“And I do still feel like there’s a lot of informal, although legal, but informal care happening across Montana. So if people are accessing that informal care, they’re not eligible to utilize the scholarship,” said Sproles.
The Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services said in a statement that the scholarship should be available to all who are eligible, and encourages parents to apply on the department’s website.
