On February 11, Sen. Marklein. As co-chair of the Joint Finance Committee, received dozens of calls from constituents urging the state to finally invest state dollars in child care. Some received form letters from Senator Marklein after making the call. Below is a rebuttal highlighting what representatives are overlooking and emphasizing that Marklein has not met with providers to understand why this investment benefits Wisconsin.
Dear Howard,
Thank you for your response regarding the Child Care Counts program. I appreciate your engagement on this critical issue and your recognition that child care availability and affordability remain significant challenges in Wisconsin. However, I must respectfully challenge several points in your argument and urge a reevaluation of the state’s approach to solving this crisis.
Mischaracterization of Child Care Counts as a Temporary Measure
While it is true that Child Care Counts was initially funded by federal COVID-19 relief funds, the reality is that this program has become an essential component of Wisconsin’s child care infrastructure. The child care industry was already in crisis before the pandemic, with unsustainable costs for providers and families alike. The program did not merely maintain the “status quo” but prevented a complete collapse of child care services in Wisconsin. Without stable, long-term investment, we risk undoing any progress made and worsening the child care shortage.
State Responsibility vs. Federal Funding
The assertion that Child Care Counts was never meant to be a permanent solution ignores a fundamental principle: state governments routinely assume financial responsibility for essential programs initiated with federal funds. Roads, healthcare programs, and educational initiatives have all been launched with federal aid before transitioning to state funding. The need for child care did not disappear with the pandemic; rather, the pandemic highlighted its longstanding instability. A responsible approach would be for Wisconsin to integrate stable funding mechanisms rather than allowing the child care sector to falter when federal relief ends.
Limitations of the Wisconsin Shares Program
Your response suggests that additional investment in Wisconsin Shares is a sufficient substitute for direct funding to child care providers. However, Wisconsin Shares only assists lower-income families and does not address the financial realities facing middle-class families, nor does it stabilize the provider workforce. Simply put, giving parents more funds without addressing the underlying costs of running a child care center (including staff wages and operational expenses) will not increase the supply of child care slots. Many providers are leaving the industry due to unlivable wages, leading to fewer options for parents regardless of financial assistance.
Obstacles to Increasing Child Care Supply
You suggest that the key to solving this crisis is increasing the number of child care slots. However, the greatest barrier to expansion is not a lack of willing providers but the financial strain on existing facilities. The cost of maintaining a high-quality child care center — meeting regulatory standards, paying competitive wages, and ensuring safe environments — is simply too high without sustainable funding. Your acknowledgment that Governor Evers vetoed bills to support child care providers is telling: rather than proposing solutions that align with best practices in early childhood policy, these bills failed to address the underlying market failures in the child care sector.
Economic Impact of Child Care Instability
The lack of affordable, accessible child care is not just a problem for families — it is a workforce issue with significant economic consequences. According to a 2023 report from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, child care gaps cost states billions in lost economic productivity annually. Parents — particularly women — are forced to leave the workforce or reduce hours due to child care challenges, leading to reduced tax revenues and labor shortages. Investing in child care is an economic imperative, not just a social service.
Economic Priorities: Corporate Subsidies vs. Child Care Investment
It is worth noting that Wisconsin, like the federal government, has a long history of providing subsidies, tax incentives, and financial bailouts to corporations under the justification of economic development. For example, the state has allocated millions in tax credits and incentives to businesses with the promise of job creation, even when those investments have failed to deliver long-term benefits.
If we are willing to invest public funds in corporations — many of which already have substantial resources — under the premise that they contribute to economic stability, why would we not apply the same logic to child care, which is fundamental to workforce participation and economic growth? The inability of parents to access affordable child care directly impacts labor force participation, productivity, and economic output. A thriving child care system supports not just individual families but Wisconsin’s entire economy.
This discrepancy in priorities raises a crucial question: if the state is willing to invest in private industries for the sake of economic prosperity, why does it hesitate to invest in working families who are the backbone of that economy?
Conclusion
The solution to Wisconsin’s child care crisis is not to shift responsibility to parents while neglecting the systemic financial instability of providers. Long-term investment in the child care industry is necessary to ensure that families of all income levels have access to high-quality, affordable child care. While the Wisconsin Shares program may provide relief for some, it does not address the structural issues within the industry. Sustainable public funding, like Child Care Counts, is not a “band-aid” but a necessary investment in Wisconsin’s future workforce and economic growth.
I urge you and your colleagues to prioritize sustainable funding solutions that support both families and providers, ensuring that child care is treated as the critical infrastructure it is.
— Why Child Care Matters is a series written by local child care providers. Jillynn Niemeier is with Blue Door Daycare and in collaboration with Eric Justiniano, a parent of Blue Door Daycare.
