By Nadia Ramlagan
West Virginia lawmakers continue their inaction on improving access to child care.
House Bill 2026 would have allocated $32 million toward child care subsidies, but ultimately did not make it into the budget.
Parents of more than 25,000 kids across the state have no child care options, and at least 100 providers have closed statewide in the past year.
The $32 million would have maintained family eligibility policies and paid child care providers based on enrollment numbers, explains Kristy Ritz – the executive director of the West Virginia Association for Young Children.
“Just in the past two weeks, we’ve heard about a program that was closing in Whitehall,” said Ritz, “another program closing in Weirton, and a program in Bridgeport closing their infant room.”
The West Virginia Chamber of Commerce says more child care centers would help increase the state’s workforce participation rate, which is among the lowest in the nation – at around 54%.
According to a 2024 report by the Chamber, in 29 counties, more than half of children under age six lack access to child care.
Ritz said there are plenty of opportunities across the state for public-private investments in child care.
She noted that care costs are most expensive for infants, at around $10,000 per year. That’s about the same as in-state tuition at West Virginia University or Marshall University.
“I feel like businesses need to support their workers and contribute to their child care costs,” said Ritz, “or support families who are having difficulty finding child care providers.”
Legislation introduced earlier this year aimed to create the Employee Child Care Assistance Partnership.
It would have connected the state with child care providers to offset employees’ child care costs.
An estimated 2,000 Mountain State families could lose access to child care when pandemic-era federal subsides to day care centers end on July 1.
