LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A Kentucky program is set to use $15 million to help employers in the state offer their workers money for child care.
The main goal of the program is to get more people back to work.
"We've got a real chance here, and we need to maximize it," explained Mandy Simpson, Metro United Way Chief Policy officer.
Simpson says data shows child care is why many people aren't working.
"Families, children and employers all depend on child care," Simpson said. "We finally have a solution that brings that into perspective as well."
This spring, Kentucky lawmakers created the Employee Child Care Assistance Partnership. It matches a contribution from employers with state dollars.
Secretary Eric Friedlander of the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services, says the program is able to, "provide some of those extra benefits, employers are really interested in."
"We hope that this will be the start of something bigger," he said.
Friedlander said the cabinet is on-schedule to open applications for employers to opt in in April.
"We've had lots of interest there," he said. "We'll have that set up soon."
Not all employees will receive the same amount though. The matching from the state is scaled based on the family's income.
The Cabinet for Health and Family Services provided this scale that outlines how much families using the Ky Employee Child Care Assistance Partnership will be matched based on their income.
"It really makes sure that we're targeting those public resources to the families, the lower-middle income families who need this support the most," Simpson said. "But all employees will still have the opportunity to participate if their employer does."
Metro United Way says this should also help families afford quality care.
"It is expensive and we know that's rooted in real costs child care providers can't cut," Simpson said. "We're talking about health, safety, quality education expenses. So if we want families that look any way to be able to participate in our workforce, we have to acknowledge what supports they may need."
Friedlander said a lingering challenge for child care access is the same one the program is hoping to solve.
"They're not at their licensed capacity because they can't get enough employees in to provide the child care," he said.
Distribution of funds from the program is expected to begin in the summer of 2023, but this is only a pilot program. The state funding has only been allocated for fiscal year 2023. Lawmakers would have to sign off on more money from the budget for it to continue past that.
The application is not online yet but will be accessible via the Cabinet for Health and Family Services website in April. Money is expected in July.
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