Improve Access to Quality Child Care
GEEARS commends the 2024 Senate Study Committee on Access to Affordable Childcare’s recommendations to address challenges facing Georgia’s families and child care providers.
*Denotes a policy supported by the Committee’s recommendations.
Serve more children through Georgia’s Childcare and Parent Services (CAPS) Program
CAPS provides scholarships to help some working families with low incomes afford child care. Georgia is currently serving around 51,000 children through CAPS—a sharp decline of nearly 30% from the 2023 peak of 72,000, when federal pandemic relief funding temporarily expanded access. This decline stems in part from the state’s decision to lower initial income eligibility, which is now the lowest in the nation.
To best address Georgia’s child care challenges, the state should restore access to the number of children served in 2023. As noted in a review conducted by the Georgia Department of Audits and Accounts, increasing CAPS enrollment would have positive, immediate effects on the state’s economy, including supporting parents’ participation in the workforce. At the same time, state leaders should maintain increased reimbursement rates to ensure child care providers can participate in CAPS.
Additional reading:
Create a dedicated capital improvement grant program for child care facilities
High-quality early learning environments benefit children, families, and Georgia’s economy. Yet many providers—often small businesses—cannot afford the costs of expanding or upgrading their facilities. Establishing a dedicated state funding program for child care infrastructure would help providers build, renovate, and modernize spaces to better serve families across Georgia.
Add the child care workforce as a priority group for CAPS*
The enduring struggle to recruit and retain early childhood educators has reached a crisis level. Comprehensive and sustained investment in early educator compensation is needed to support this critical workforce. As a start, the state can utilize existing mechanisms to bolster educators’ economic security. One option: Prioritize children of income-eligible early educators for CAPS scholarships.
Additional reading:
Explore the creation of dedicated funding streams* for infant-toddler care
This would provide a stable, ongoing source of funding for early care and education, particularly for infants and toddlers, who are more costly to serve. Alongside general state funding, Georgia should create a child care trust fund or special revenue account similar to those established in New Mexico, Montana, and Louisiana.
