PARIS, Tennessee (WSMV) – Millions of dollars in funding meant to help Tennessee families pay for child care is on hold, leaving people stranded and daycare owners worried they could go out of business.
Kilpatrick’s childcare currently has just 35 full-time children playing, less than half of their 85-student capacity. Director Amy Curd said many families in Paris and Henry counties can’t afford daycare without the state’s Smart Steps program, and the current pause is eating into their emergency savings.
With classroom space empty and no one available to fill them, Dahi is losing more than $6,000 a week. He said daycare centers across the state are struggling with the same problem.
Federal funding cuts trigger statewide program changes
According to a Department of Human Services spokesperson, the crisis began in August when Tennessee’s Child Care Development Fund allocation was reduced by approximately $44.5 million from the projected amount.
Tennessee used those federal dollars to support the Smart Steps child care payment assistance program, expand childcare slots, and provide quality contracts for provider support. With COVID-19 relief funding also ending, the state’s childcare funding returned to pre-pandemic levels.
A waiting list was started for new applicants to the Smart Steps program, but DHS said it would have no impact on those currently enrolled.
Curd said many daycares are facing layoffs of teachers or even going out of business.
Curd said, “I want them to stay with me. They’re wonderful workers. They’re wonderful individuals. To keep them, I have to pay them what they’re worth.” “It’s hurting me financially because I’m having to dig deep into savings to keep those teachers employed, even though there’s not enough enrollment right now to meet that payroll.”
Without aid families face huge costs
Raising three children under the age of two is a huge responsibility for Cassandra Holloman. The single mother said she was only able to send her twin boys and baby girl to Kilpatrick’s childcare because of the state’s Smart Steps program, which helps families cover the cost of daycare.
“It’s a huge resource. Everyone needs child care if they want to work,” Holloman said.
But that help ended abruptly in August when Holloman missed a renewal deadline, discovered the program was on hold, and then had to start paying the full price again.
Without state assistance, she was facing a weekly bill of $788 for child care and was forced to take her two older children out into the care of family members.
“A lot of people can barely make it every two weeks,” Holloman said. “Especially in this area because a lot of people here make a little more than minimum wage on average.”
Holloman is now one of many people on the waiting list for the state money. She said smart steps are the only way single mothers like her can survive.
“Getting that program was something that was pretty phenomenal because it helped a lot with expenses,” Holloman said. “People are already barely earning enough to cover their basic needs for their expenses. Shelter, food, people are barely earning enough to afford it.”
Daycare centers struggle to stay afloat
Curd said almost all of his families are affected by this funding change. Without state money, she is struggling to pay her staff while the families she has served for years are struggling financially.
“When families come here, we become an extension of them,” Curd said. “It breaks our hearts when we see them struggling and suffering. It hurts us too. We just struggle and try to find whatever we can resource-wise.”
She said CURDS is used to having a nearly two-year-long waiting list for families who want to send their children to Kilpatrick, but she hasn’t been able to fill the spots with it because all the families are also waiting for Smart Steps approval so they can afford child care.
“It won’t be much longer before I have to make some difficult decisions that I don’t want to make,” Curd said. “I mean, I’m unsure. I’m 54 years old. I’ve never done anything else because I love what I do. I love working with families. I love what we do with these kids. We know what we do makes a difference in these kids’ lives. We’ve seen the kids and now we’re watching their kids.”
State prioritizes families with highest needs amid budget shortfall
The Department of Human Services said it would have to adjust its budget to reflect current federal grant awards and priority programming. The state is now prioritizing Smart Steps child care payment assistance categories that serve families most in need.
“Over the past several years, Tennessee has been fortunate to receive critical child care funding to support families and child care providers during the COVID-19 response and recovery,” a DHS spokesperson said in a statement. “As COVID-19 relief funding has ended, our CCDF funding has returned to pre-COVID levels.”
Curd questions why alternative funding sources have not been explored, given that the program existed before federal COVID funding began.
DHS said it did not know how long the program would be paused or where it would find more funding to restart the program.
For families like Holloman, the lack of information from the state is frustrating.
“They tell us there’s a waiting list. That’s pretty much it. That’s all we know,” Holloman said. “We need our money for other things, like rent and utilities and food.”
Both Holloman and Curd said their biggest concern is daycare businesses closing or teachers leaving for other jobs, which would create an even bigger child care crisis in the future.
“We’re talking about trying to keep small businesses alive,” Holloman said. “All that money is being pulled from daycares. It’s really not just the parents that are being affected. (The community) is losing jobs. Daycares are losing money.”
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