"Emily Pike, the executive director of New Hope For Families in Bloomington, which cares for children experiencing homelessness, can't remember a time when no families were coming off the waitlist. Before this year, she said, low-income families could expect to be on the list just a few weeks before they found placement at a center that took child care vouchers."
"But now, state officials project that no kids will come off the list until at least 2027. That isn't the only drastic change. In September, Indiana moved to lower its child care reimbursement rates, meaning the state will pay providers 10 to 35 percent less to care for low-income kids. Centers have had to pass those costs on to parents through higher co-payments. Already, centers have closed classrooms as a result. Workers have been fired. Parents have pulled their children out of care."
States are reversing pandemic-era child care funding supports, producing sharply increased voucher waitlists and lower provider reimbursements. Indiana's waitlist ballooned from roughly 3,000 to 30,000 children, with officials projecting no exits until at least 2027. Reimbursement reductions of 10–35 percent forced centers to raise co-payments, close classrooms, and lay off staff, prompting some parents to withdraw children from care. Organizations serving vulnerable populations face heightened barriers to placement. Several states, including Arkansas, Oregon, Maryland, and New Jersey, have instituted similar waitlists as federal COVID relief funding runs out and states preserve benefits for current recipients.
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