child care

New funding could be coming to Indiana’s child care voucher program, but it likely will not be enough to cover the current waitlist.

Communities across Indiana are struggling to solve one of the state's largest challenges: How to help families get access to high-quality day care and preschool.

Access to affordable child care remains an ongoing issue in the state. Advocates hope they have more success addressing the problem in this upcoming Indiana legislative session.

WFYI’s Dylan Peers McCoy sat down with Sam Snideman, vice president of government relations for the United Way of Central Indiana, to talk about how inadequate child care affects families, businesses and communities.

The nonprofit gets state vouchers to pay for care for about 350 children. It is aiming to raise $750,000 to cover the cost of the cuts for the 2025-26 school year.

The Indiana Family and Social Services Administration is cutting voucher reimbursement rates for the Child Care and Development Fund. The agency said the cuts are meant to address a $225 million funding gap. The cuts range from 10 to 35 percent based on the child's age.

Lack of affordable and accessible child care affects thousands of Hoosier families. And according to the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, child care issues cost the state more than $1 billion in tax revenue each year. One advocacy group is working to increase child care access across the state.

Indiana will set aside 200 child care vouchers for foster families if the governor signs a bill sent to his desk Monday.

A recent survey of Hoosier parents shows 57 percent say they’ve recently missed work or school due to child care-related issues, and 40 percent say they’ve left the workforce in the last year due to those complications.

New program to lower child care costs for northeast Indiana workers. For every 100 job openings in Indiana, there are only 72 workers available to fill those roles — that’s according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.