Gov. Tony Evers and the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families (DCF) on Thursday announced the results of DCF’s Child Care Counts Stabilization Survey, which found a quarter of child care providers across the state are somewhat, very or extremely likely to close their doors if the Wisconsin State Legislature fails to make investments to continue the Child Care Counts Program. It is currently set to expire at the end of June.
Additionally, if the program ends, costs for infant care are expected to go up, with three-quarters of providers anticipated to raise weekly tuition rates for care. Of the 78% of providers who reported they will raise tuition for infant care, 21% expect to raise weekly rates by at least $25, and 17% expect rates to rise by at least $50, adding $1,300 or $2,600 to families’ household budgets per year, respectively.
The survey was conducted in partnership with UW-Madison’s Institute for Research on Poverty.
