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Producer: Trimmel Gomes, Ph: +17723424024, E-mail:
Estimates show Montana's economy loses an estimated $317 million each year due to child care challenges, affecting both parents and providers. (Halfpoint/Adobe Stock)
By Trimmel Gomes
PNS - As the government shutdown drags on, progress is halted on a bill in Congress its bipartisan backers said could help address Montana's child care crunch.
Data from the First Five Years Fund showed Montana families pay nearly $9,700 a year for toddler care, a cost which rivals a year of public university tuition. And for more than 40% of Montanans living in so-called "child care deserts," finding a spot at any price is the first challenge. The proposed Child Care Modernization Act would update a key federal grant program to help low-income families.
Whitney Pesek, senior director of federal child care policy at the National Women’s Law Center Action Fund, said the system is in crisis.
"Parents are having to pay unaffordable sums, if they’re even able to find child care," Pesek pointed out. "Early educators are paid poverty-level wages, that really results in a recruitment and retention problem, and hurts the ability for there to be sufficient supply to meet the need of parents."
The bill proposes reforming the federal grant to better reflect the true cost of quality care, including competitive wages for workers. The annual cost of infant care in Montana consumes over one-fifth of the median income for a married couple.
When Congress is back in session, Pesek stressed they have a direct opportunity to help by pushing for increased child care funding in the budget negotiations.
"Congress is currently debating the federal budget, including Fiscal Year '26 appropriations," Pesek noted. "Lawmakers have an opportunity right now to strengthen the Child Care and Development Block Grant by significantly increasing its funding right now."
Advocates argued without federal action, Montana's child care shortage could worsen, affecting parents' ability to work and in turn, the state's economy.
