FRANKFORT, Ky (LEX 18) — The Save the Children Action Network came to Kentucky’s capitol on Tuesday, hoping to convince lawmakers that an investment in our children would be an investment in the overall well-being of our state.
“Kentucky needs it. We need them to invest in childcare, and we need them to invest in child nutrition so people can go back to work,” said Sara Hall with Save the Children. “It’s costing the state 3.23 billion dollars in lost revenue a year when folks can’t get out to work,” she added.
Hall and her group met privately on Tuesday morning before splitting up to make their pitch to lawmakers in Frankfort who are in the midst of the 2024 legislative session. Hall believes more than half of Kentucky has a serious shortage of viable childcare options.
“79 of Kentucky’s 120 counties are childcare deserts, which means there’s not enough childcare in those counties,” she said. “If they can find it, it’s not affordable, so it needs to be accessible and affordable,” Hall continued.
Hall and her colleagues hope state legislators won’t be reluctant to tap into the state’s well-funded “rainy day fund.”
“This year, we have an advantage,” she said of the money available. “The truth is we can’t afford not to do this.”
Hall believes there are ways of subsidizing certain program areas to help offset these expenses for families and childcare centers.
“Help centers cover mandatory background checks, offer scholarships for home-based childcare centers, and continue to offer the Community Childcare Assistance Program, C-CAP,” she stated.
