New child care rules will hurt providers
Posted March 26, 2024 in Press Releases
State proposes changes that conform to letter, violate spirit of federal policy
The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) and Department of Children and Youth (DCY) may change the rules of Step Up to Quality (SUTQ), the state’s long-established rating system for child care providers. The planned changes will worsen the state’s child care crisis by forcing some providers to shut their doors and others to shed even more staff and reduce capacity. Policy Matters today delivered public comments advocating against the two rule changes being considered.
Following thousands of child care program closures since the COVID pandemic, the federal government mandated increased reimbursement rates for providers of Publicly Funded Child Care (PFCC). Rather than increasing funding to make this change, Ohio lawmakers are leaving DCY to change the payment structure for PFCC providers and the rating system for SUTQ in such a way that many Ohio providers will actually see cuts to their reimbursements.
“In short, federal changes intended to help providers make ends meet, advance services, and provide reasonable pay for workers are being manipulated to short-change providers and ultimately harm PFCC families and children,” said Budget and Health Researcher Kathryn Poe.
The organization today submitted public comment on both proposed rule changes: one that would collapse SUTQ’s familiar five-star rating system to just three tiers, and another that would nominally meet the federal requirement to reimburse providers at the 50th percentile while reducing long-existing incentives for providers, often cancelling out increases in the reimbursement rate — and in many cases decreasing funding.
“The departments creating these rules have been given little choice,” said Ali Smith, Operations Specialist and co-author of the organization’s upcoming report on the child care crisis. “The legislature has failed to properly fund PFCC, and now departments have to shift around the same too small pot of money. These proposed rules will hurt the people Ohioans depend on to care for our kids and deepen the child care crisis.”
Policy Matters’ comments were among dozens submitted during the public comment period by PFCC providers, parents and advocates from the CEO Project, Children’s Defense Fund and Northern Ohioans for Budget Legislation Equity (NOBLE).