Legislature(2023 - 2024)BARNES 124
02/13/2023 03:15 PM House LABOR & COMMERCE
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| Audio | Topic |
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| Start | |
| Presentation(s): Child Care Overview in Alaska | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE LABOR AND COMMERCE STANDING COMMITTEE
February 13, 2023
3:17 p.m.
DRAFT
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Jesse Sumner, Chair
Representative Justin Ruffridge, Vice Chair
Representative Mike Prax
Representative Dan Saddler
Representative Ashley Carrick
Representative Zack Fields
MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative Stanley Wright
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
PRESENTATION(S): CHILD CARE OVERVIEW IN ALASKA
- HEARD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
No previous action to record
WITNESS REGISTER
DAN BEUTEL, representing self
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Gave invited testimony during the
presentation, titled "Child Care Overview in Alaska."
STEPHANIE BERGLUND, CEO
thread Alaska
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Gave a PowerPoint, titled "Child Care-
Then, Now, Next" during the "Child Care Overview in Alaska"
presentation.
ELIZABETH SCHULTZ, Community Relations Manager
Help Me Grow Alaska
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Co-offered a PowerPoint presentation during
the "Child Care Overview in Alaska" presentation to introduce
Help Me Grow Alaska.
MARCY ASH, Community Relations Coordinator
Help Me Grow Alaska
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Co-offered a PowerPoint presentation during
the "Child Care Overview in Alaska" presentation to introduce
Help Me Grow Alaska.
DEB ETHERIDGE, Director
Division of Public Assistance
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Gave a PowerPoint, titled "Child Care
Program Overview" during the "Child Care Overview in Alaska"
presentation.
CHRISTINA HULQUIST, Public Assistance Programs Officer
Alaska Department of Education and Early Development
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Answered questions on behalf of the Alaska
Department of Education and Early Development during the
presentation "Child Care Overview in Alaska."
ACTION NARRATIVE
3:17:01 PM
CHAIR JESSE SUMNER called the House Labor and Commerce Standing
Committee meeting to order at 3:17 p.m. Representatives
Carrick, Fields, Ruffridge, Prax, Saddler and Sumner were
present at the call to order.
^PRESENTATION(S): CHILD CARE OVERVIEW IN ALASKA
PRESENTATION(S): CHILD CARE OVERVIEW IN ALASKA
[Contains discussion of HB 46.]
3:17:33 PM
CHAIR SUMNER announced that the only order of business would be
a presentation, titled "Child Care Overview in Alaska."
3:18:11 PM
DAN BEUTEL, representing self, stated that he left his job the
previous year due to his inability to find childcare for his
three children. The cost of childcare outweighed the benefit of
having a second income for his family. He offered his opinion
that it is unfair for childcare workers to not be paid more for
the work that they do.
3:22:48 PM
STEPHANIE BERGLUND, CEO, thread Alaska, introduced a PowerPoint
presentation titled "Child Care- Then, Now, Next," [hard copy
included in the committee packet].
3:23:18 PM
The committee took an at-ease from 3:23 p.m. to 3:25 p.m.
3:25:35 PM
MS. BERGLUND continued to slide 2 and stated that the goal of
thread Alaska is to promote childcare and early childhood
education. On slide 3, she outlined the services provided by
thread Alaska, including childcare referrals, training early
childcare educators, and providing childcare advocacy and
research.
3:27:46 PM
MS. BERGLUND skipped to slides 5 and 6 giving an overview of
childcare access in the state of Alaska. She said that 1 in 5
working families were inhibited in some way from fully
participating in the workforce due to issues finding childcare,
and 61 percent of Alaska is considered to be "in crisis" when it
comes to access to childcare. The definition used to determine
this is 50 children 5 years of age or older with no providers or
few enough providers that the ratio of children in need of
childcare to childcare providers is 3:1.
MS. BERGLUND moved on to slide 7 and gave an overview of the
issues with childcare affordability. She stated that the
average family spent 17 percent of its yearly income on
childcare, and that for families with 2 or more children, the
cost was often greater than their cost of housing. Childcare in
Alaska is more expensive than in-state college tuition.
MS. BERGLUND continued to slide 8 and stated that childcare
workers are some of the lowest paid workers in the state.
Although childcare providers want to pay higher wages, they
cannot as the cost would be pushed onto parents, making
childcare unaffordable. She added that reduced working hours
during the COVID-19 pandemic caused childcare to become even
more unaffordable for some families.
3:30:46 PM
MS. BERGLUND skipped to slides 11 and 12 and gave a brief
overview of the issues currently facing the childcare sector.
In part because of the COVID-19 pandemic, a fifth of Alaskan
childcare centers have permanently closed and 90 percent of
those that are operating are doing so below their capacity. She
added that low wages are contributing to burnout among childcare
employees, furthering the staffing shortages that childcare
centers are already facing. The lack of sufficient childcare is
a contributing factor to slowing economic growth across the
state: 77 percent of parents across the U.S. reported missing
work due to issues finding childcare; 36 percent have postponed
higher education or training for the same reason; and 7 percent
of families have had a parent leave their job in order to stay
home and care for their children.
MS. BERGLUND continued to slide 13 and said that over $50
million in grants have been distributed to childcare providers
for the purpose of helping childcare centers remain open. She
added that the federal aid for childcare centers is nearing its
sunset date and following that the challenges faced by childcare
providers will continue to grow. She offered her opinion that
public funding for childcare is necessary to reduce outmigration
from the state.
3:35:20 PM
MS. BERGLUND continued to slides 15 and 16 and stated that only
one-third of children are considered to be ready for
kindergarten, and that childcare plays a role in education. She
added that there is "a lack of respect" for childcare employees
that underestimates their role in preparing children to succeed
in school. She added that 1 in 6 members of the state's
workforce are able to participate because of access to
childcare, earning a cumulative $1.9 billion in wages.
3:39:35 PM
REPRESENTATIVE FIELDS commented that the state of North Dakota
is pursuing wage increases for childcare workers to complement
the increased training they are receiving, and suggested that it
is a model that should be considered by Alaska.
3:40:24 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER asked what an "ideal" situation for
childcare would look like, and whether the state has had such a
situation in the past.
MS. BERGLUND answered that in her 16 years working at thread
Alaska she had not met a family that had found "accessible,
affordable care that meets their needs." She stated that access
to affordable childcare has been a challenge for decades across
the U.S. In response to a follow-up question, she said that
there are other places to look to for inspiration when it comes
to achieving accessible and affordable childcare.
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER asked Ms. Berglund who she believes
should pay for childcare.
MS. BERGLUND answered that thread Alaska believes that it is the
responsibility of everyone. Parents bear the greatest
responsibility for the cost currently, but thread Alaska is
looking to businesses and the government to help reduce the cost
to parents. In response to a follow-up question, she defined
"all of us" to mean all of the people of Alaska.
3:44:01 PM
REPRESENTATIVE CARRICK noted that the federal government
contributes $84 million towards childcare in Alaska, while the
state contributes $36 million, and asked whether there were
other states where those two figures were closer.
MS. BERGLUND answered that Alaska contributes relatively less
than most other states towards childcare.
3:45:21 PM
REPRESENTATIVE PRAX asked what size investment the State would
need to make in order to "close the gap."
MS. BERGLUND answered that $30 million more would be needed to
solve the problem in the short term.
3:46:38 PM
ELIZABETH SCHULTZ, Community Relations Manager, Help Me Grow
Alaska, co-offered a PowerPoint presentation [hard copy included
in the committee packet], during the Child Care Overview in
Alaska presentation, to introduce Help Me Grow Alaska as a call-
center that is a part of the All Alaska Pediatric Partnership.
The organization talks to families around the state about what
challenges they face when it comes to accessing childcare. On
slide 2, she stated that families are facing difficulties
balancing the demands of their jobs with caring for their
children.
3:49:03 PM
MARCY ASH, Community Relations Coordinator, Help Me Grow Alaska,
continued with the PowerPoint Presentation begun by Ms. Schultz
to slide 3, and gave an overview of how the difficulty of
finding childcare affects military families. She said that many
military families are single-parent or dual-income families,
with the second parent working outside of the home or also being
a member of the military. Both of the childcare facilities on
Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson (JBER) have waiting lists long
enough to cause military families to have to consider off-base
childcare facilities. She stated that Alaska is considered by
the military to be an overseas assignment, meaning that military
dependents that require certain services must be screened by the
Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP) to receive a permanent
change of station (PCS) in order to ensure that the new station
will be able to provide for the needs of that dependent. This
results in some families being unable "to PCS" to the state of
Alaska or having to be reassigned away from Alaska if a sudden
change in availability for care occurs. She added that the
Valdez Coast Guard base is at risk of losing its "family
friendly" designation due to a lack of childcare options in the
community.
MS. ASH continued to slide 4 and stated that lack of access to
pulmonary treatment is a challenge for military families going
to Fairbanks if they have a child with asthma. If a family must
travel to Anchorage, Alaska, to see a specialist, it is not
considered to be available care, limiting the people who may
receive a PCS to Fairbanks, Alaska. She said that it is also
difficult to recruit doctors in the state because they also have
issues with finding childcare.
3:55:04 PM
MS. SCHULTZ skipped to slide 6 and stated that there are 3 steps
that the Alaska State Legislature should take to mitigate the
problem of lack of childcare access in the state. She stated
that the legislature should use the data provided by Help Me
Grow Alaska regarding the needs of children and families,
establish a legislative childcare policy workgroup, and provide
additional funding for the Head Start and Early Head Start
programs.
3:58:24 PM
DEB ETHERIDGE, Director, Division of Public Assistance, gave a
presentation titled "Child Care Program Overview" [hard copy
included in the committee packet] that introduced the Child Care
Program Office. On slide 2, she stated its mission: to support
families looking to access childcare. She continued to slide 3
and gave an overview of the Child Care Development Fund (CCDF).
The fund is authorized through the Child Care and Development
Block Grant Act and administered by the Child Care Program
Office. The purpose of the fund is to promote healthy child
development and school success, support working parents and
parents who are continuing their education, help low income
families pay for childcare, and provide support to the childcare
system.
MS. ETHERIDGE continued to slides 4 and 5, presenting the
structure of the Child Care Program Office. The office provides
licensing for childcare providers, administers subsidy programs,
and works to improve the quality and capacity of Alaska's
childcare programs.
4:01:51 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER asked what the Childcare Development Fund
is and how it is funded.
MS. ETHERIDGE answered that it is a block grant provided to the
state by the federal government.
4:02:38 PM
CHRISTINA HULQUIST, Public Assistance Programs Officer, Alaska
Department of Education and Early Development, added that the
amount received for fiscal year 2023 was $22 million. The
amount of money granted by the federal government has a
requirement that the state matches the amount received. She
said that 70 percent of the grant must be used to subsidize the
cost of childcare for low income families.
4:03:28 PM
REPRESENTATIVE FIELDS commented that the Childcare Development
Fund is not something that exists in Alaska; instead, a plan is
submitted to the federal government detailing how the state will
use the federal grants.
4:03:53 PM
MS. ETHERIDGE continued to slides 6 and 7 and gave an overview
of the childcare licensing and the different types of childcare
licenses. She stated that the 3 types of childcare providers
that the department issues licenses are: home providers, which
is a single childcare provider that cares for up to eight
children in a home; a childcare group home, which requires 2
providers and can care for up to 12 children; and a childcare
center which cares for 13 or more children and requires a
qualified administrator and a caretaker for every 30 children
enrolled in the center. She said that there are two exceptions
to needing a license for childcare while benefitting from the
Childcare Assistance Program, which are relatives and in-home
providers. Examples include a grandparent caring for the
grandchild and a provider who goes into the home of the children
to care for them, both of which would still be required to meet
the standards of the Childcare Assistance Program to benefit
from it.
MS. ETHERIDGE moved to slide 8 and gave an overview of
eligibility for the subsidies and benefits of the Childcare
Assistance Program. There are 2,832 children in Alaska enrolled
in childcare services between 379 licensed providers and 9
approved providers. She said that the grants cover the
subsidies for eligible families, providers that accept
subsidized children, and providers who care for children with
special needs.
4:07:44 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER asked for clarification of the difference
between the approved and licensed providers.
MS. ETHERIDGE answered that an approved provider is a provider
that is eligible for the Childcare Assistance Program but is
covered by the exceptions for family and in-home providers.
4:09:40 PM
MS. ETHERIDGE continued with slide 8 and stated that childcare
providers have multiple ways to use the grant for the purposes
of improving their programs. She said that Alaska Inclusive
Child Care Program provides grants to childcare providers that
care for children with special needs in order to help those
providers better care for those needs.
MS. ETHERIDGE moved to slide 9 and stated that the department
has a goal of improving the quality and capacity of childcare
programs in the state. This is done through promoting childhood
development, supporting parents that are working and/or
continuing education, supporting childcare employee training and
professional development, and increasing education to the public
on the subject.
4:13:10 PM
REPRESENTATIVE PRAX asked if the number of providers given in
the presentation included those not accepting subsidized
children.
MS. ETHERIDGE answered that it did. In response to a follow-up
question, she said that that number did not include providers
that cared for four or less children, as those providers do not
require licensure.
MS. HULQUIST added that the State of Alaska does not have a way
of knowing the number of children being cared for by providers
that do not require licensure.
4:15:03 PM
REPRESENTATIVE CARRICK asked if the state currently has an early
childhood strategic plan, and if so, who is part of putting the
plan together.
MS. ETHERIDGE answered that there is a comprehensive plan in
place for early childhood care.
MS. HULQUIST added that private and public stakeholders across
the state participated in putting the plan together, including
state government agencies, parents, and childcare providers.
4:16:39 PM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Committee of Labor and Commerce meeting was adjourned at 4:16
p.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| DOH DPA CCPO Overview 02.13.23.pdf |
HL&C 2/13/2023 3:15:00 PM |
|
| Legislative Testimony Feb 13 SB.pptx |
HL&C 2/13/2023 3:15:00 PM |
|
| HB 46 Letter of Support.pdf |
HL&C 2/13/2023 3:15:00 PM |
HB 46 |
| A2P2 HMG-AK ECN Testimony on Child Care Needs.pdf |
HL&C 2/13/2023 3:15:00 PM |
|
| HMG-AK Program Director Testimony.pdf |
HL&C 2/13/2023 3:15:00 PM |
|
| House L&C Hearing FEB 13 - Read-Only.pdf |
HL&C 2/13/2023 3:15:00 PM |
|
| AK Childcare Fact Sheet 3.0.pdf |
HL&C 2/13/2023 3:15:00 PM |
|
| L&C February 13 Klouda.pdf |
HL&C 2/13/2023 3:15:00 PM |
|
| HB 46 Supporting Document - UA Center for Economic Development Nolan Klouda.pdf |
HL&C 2/13/2023 3:15:00 PM |
HB 46 |