A big thank-you to the Alaska House of Representatives for passing House Bill 89. With a 35-5 vote, the Alaska House made a historic step toward making child care more affordable for parents and a policy that creates a pathway for more stable child care programs across the state. I hope our State Senate considers and passes HB 89 while there is still time in the legislative calendar.
House Bill 89, the Day Care Assistance/Child Care Benefits Bill, sponsored by Rep. Julie Coulombe, increases eligibility for child care assistance, allows child care programs to be reimbursed at the actual ‘cost of care’, and creates tax incentives for businesses to spend money on child care programs for their workers.
In my research, I found the Alaska Legislature has never passed a piece of legislation focused on child care and the support of HB 89 represents a monumental step forward.
Increasing the affordability of quality child care helps our state in many ways. It allows families to work and earn more income, it allows businesses to hire more available workers, and it gives children a key preparation for school and life. Any policy increasing access to quality and affordable child care options should be supported. We can’t afford to have more working families leave Alaska because of a lack of child care options.
It is important to point out that many other states have invested heavily in their child care sector in recent years. North Dakota’s recent investment of $66 million, was covered in a recent ADN article and will make child care significantly more affordable and higher quality in their state. Alaska can follow suit and stay competitive with the full passage of HB 89 coupled with increased funding for the entire child care system of $30.5 million.
We know parents are struggling to find child care that they can afford, we know child care programs are struggling to stay open and afford staff.
That’s why state action and additional investment are critical now that federal COVID-19 relief funding has run out. Since 2020, 148 child care small businesses have already closed in Alaska, and even more will close without sustainable funding support from the state.
Thank you again to Alaska’s House of Representatives for passing HB 89, and a special thank-you to Rep. Julie Coulombe who is the sponsor of the bill and an incredible advocate for Alaska’s children and families.
— Stephanie Berglund
CEO, Thread
Anchorage
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