The Indiana Chamber recently held its very first Childcare Summit. We spent the first half of the day level setting with Adam Alson, director of the Office of Early Childhood and Out-of-School Learning. Alson provided attendees an overview of current Childcare and Development Fund vouchers allocations, staffing and contract reductions, and challenges on the forefront. We also received information from Early Learning Indiana, and Brittany Scott from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Linda Smith of the Buffett Early Childhood Institute presented national models and best practices in childcare.
A robust panel discussion with Tyler Stock (Welborn Baptist Foundation), Sherry Grate (Ambassador Enterprises), Jennifer Myers (Monroe Smart Start), Justin Armstrong (AYS) and Dr. Rita Shourds (Align Southern Indiana) highlighted regional childcare solutions taking place around Indiana.
We also took time to strategize and identify some common themes with business owners, childcare providers and thought leaders in the field. Liability insurance may be preventing quality providers from expanding, existing tax credits are not being talked about or utilized and there is chatter around creating scholarship granting organization-like accounts to fund childcare scholarships at accredited facilities. We will be working closely with legislators to ensure we craft language to support sustainable, safe and affordable childcare solutions.
The Chamber also will engage with employers to make them aware of existing solutions. That includes a state tax credit for those who invest in childcare facilities for their employees: Eligible employers can claim 50% of their qualified childcare expenditures – up to $100,000 per year, and the total credit pool statewide is capped at $2.5 million annually. We will be looking at this solution to determine barriers to utilization.
On the licensing side, House Enrolled Act 1253 (which became effective July 1) simplifies several regulations. Multi-site childcare providers can now operate under a single license rather than separate licenses for each facility, reducing administrative burden while still requiring separate health and safety inspections per site. School-based childcare programs also are allowed to serve all children in a school corporation (not just students’ kids or staff), expanding eligibility. The law extends waivers or variances for providers from two to three years, giving more stability. Other changes include updated health and training requirements – such as pediatric CPR/first aid within 90 days for new staff – and adjusted staff-to-child ratio rules for mixed-age classrooms (once final rules are adopted). All of these strategies were supported by the Chamber, and we hope they will bring flexibility to childcare providers.
