Two bills could ease child care costs for families and boost provider wages

EVERETT — When Patrick Lewis moved to south Everett, it took more than a year to find child care for his 8-year-old daughter.

Although he moved from another part of Everett, his new home was in a different school district, so Lewis had to find new child care. He’s a single dad and doesn’t have family nearby, so there was no one else he could turn to for care.

Lewis sometimes works before and after school hours. It took him three months to find affordable child care that provided transportation for his daughter, he said. Once he found somewhere, he was waitlisted for a year.

“I had to work with my employer all year, it was really difficult,” he said.

Now, his daughter attends the Mukilteo Boys & Girls Club. To pay for care, he relies on a subsidy from the Department of Children, Youth and Families.

The Working Connections Child Care subsidy helps families pay for care based on their income and family size. Families who make up to 65% of the state median income are eligible to apply. Co-pays range from $0 to $215.

“If I was to pay out of pocket without any additional funding or external funding source, my housing and child care would take up my entire paycheck for the month,” Lewis said.

Two bills before the state Legislature would adjust the subsidy’s reimbursement rates for providers, with the goal of lowering costs for families and raising wages for child care workers.

In January, state legislators introduced two bills that could adjust the subsidy’s reimbursement rates for providers. Senate Bill 5500 received a committee hearing Tuesday.

The bill, along with House Bill 1350, would update reimbursement rates to child care providers for the Working Connections Child Care subsidy.

“This bill is really going to put a tool in place to be revised by the lawmakers in the future,” said State Rep. Julio Cortes, D-Everett, a sponsor of HB 1350.

Currently, reimbursement rates are tied to a market rate model, which doesn’t cover the full cost of care, advocates said. Market rates are based on how much providers charge in a given region.

“The existing market rate survey just keeps us perpetuated into the problems of today,” said Lindsey Hueer, government affairs director for the Association of Washington Business at Tuesday’s hearing.

In 2021, the state Legislature passed the Fair Start for Kids Act. The act directed the Department of Children, Youth and Families to build an updated cost of care model, which was finalized this summer.

The new model takes into account personnel costs based on the cost of living. It also accounts for potential quality enhancements, such as professional development and family engagement.

The gap between the current subsidy and the amount providers would need for quality infant care in the Snohomish County region is more than $1,700 per month, according to the state’s most recent assessment.

“This gap has made it unsustainable for providers, especially smaller centers, to continue operating without additional support,” said Amy Anderson, who represented Washington Child Care Centers Association at Tuesday’s hearing.

The state considers 19 out of 29 zip codes in Snohomish County “extreme childcare access deserts.” Only about 23% of Snohomish County families who make less than 60% of the state median income are getting the child care they need, according to state data.

Some business leaders also showed their support of the bill Tuesday. According to a 2024 ECOnorthwest study, child care difficulties — including turnover, absenteeism and lost family income — led to a nearly $7 billion reduction of Washington’s economy in 2023.

“We’re realizing very, very quickly that it’s not just affecting families, but it’s affecting our workforce,” Cortes said.

According to the state’s report, 68% of licensed centers and 80% of licensed family homes accept the Working Connections Child Care subsidy. The report also found that the most common reason providers don’t accept the subsidy is low reimbursement rates.

Matthew Redman, a child care administrator in Snohomish County, agreed that the legislation could motivate more providers to accept the Working Connections Child Care subsidy.

“Even when schools accept families on subsidies, it’s unfortunately bad for business,” Redman said. “So therefore a lot of schools are not incentivized to do it.”

These bills would only scratch the surface of addressing childcare access in Snohomish County but are an important step, Cortes said. Cortes represents the 38th Legislative District, which includes Everett and Marysville. These cities are growing rapidly, he said.

“As we’re growing in population, we need to grow the support systems for that population,” Cortes said. “We need child care centers to open up to take care of the the families that are moving here.”

Redman said that to address the root issues of the child care sector, lawmakers should focus on increasing paid maternity and paternity leave. Still, he said this legislation would help ease the burden on child care providers.

“Child care workers so often qualify for subsidies for the exact service they provide,” Redman said. “That’s just, I think, one of our society’s most hypocritical policy points.”

Correction: A previous version of this story misstated the income requirement to apply for the Working Connections Child Care subsidy.

Jenna Peterson: 425-339-3486; jenna.peterson@heraldnet.com; X: @jennarpetersonn.