INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana lawmakers in the House are considering a bill dealing with growing the state’s child care workforce.
Senate Bill 2 already passed through the Senate earlier this legislative session.
Thursday morning, lawmakers on the House Family, Children and Human Affairs Committee heard testimony about Senate Bill 2.
Supporters of the bill say it will provide more child care in Indiana for parents who need it.
According to the bill’s author, Republican Sen. Ed Charbonneau, the work on this bill started last summer during a study committee. That’s where Charbonneau said he learned about half of the state is a child care desert, meaning no child care is available.
“The first words out of mouth when I started talking about this bill, ‘It’s an infrastructure issue for the state of Indiana,’” Charbonneau recalled thinking.
By infrastructure, Charbonneau is speaking of the state’s economy.
“Lack of child care affects every part of our economy,” Charbonneau told lawmakers on the committee Thursday morning.
“It’s just a very urgent need for young families across Indiana,” said Maureen Weber, the president and CEO of Early Learning Indiana, which operates 13 early child care centers in Tippecanoe and Marion counties, serving children ages 6 weeks to 6 years old.
Weber says, when she picks up the phone at work, often a parent is on the other end looking for help.
“Their frustration level is incredibly high,” Weber said.
That’s because, according to Weber, she hears from parents who are struggling to find child care, which means they’re struggling to get to work.
Thursday morning, Weber and more than a dozen others testified in support of Senate Bill 2.
“Without adequate staff, child care centers can’t operate, which means fewer available workers in other sectors of the economy,” said Sam Snideman with the United Way of Central Indiana.
Under Senate Bill 2, more people would be eligible to work at a child care center because it lowers the age requirement to do that, from 21 to 18.
Child care employees would have more access to federal and state money to pay for their own child care needs.
Studies show the average child care employee in Indiana makes $12 per hour.
Weber says Early Learning Indiana pays above that average, but still has a hard time hiring and retaining employees, which means they can serve fewer children.
“Out of the 1,300 or so seats, we operate, we have several hundred that are currently closed off because we can’t staff them with qualified staff,” Weber said.
Senate Bill 2 calls for studying how much child care employees in Indiana make.
It would also set up three smaller child care centers in rural areas of the state where there is no access to child care.
The proposed law would also make it easier for public and charter schools to be cleared to provide pre-K services on site.
All of it, say supporters, is a first step in growing the state’s child care workforce.
“It’s not the silver bullet, but will help attract and retain workers and help the system function more efficiently,” Weber said.
Senate Bill 2 passed out of committee unanimously.