West Virginia’s child care system is inadequate, and providers, parents and employers say the lack of care is keeping people from working.
Across the state, child care providers say they’re struggling to stay open as rising costs, worker shortages and recent policy changes have made it harder for them to operate.
Parents report waiting months or years for spots to open at child care centers, leaving some unable to return to work while others have to juggle their schedules.
More than 26,000 children currently lack access to child care because providers don’t have enough available slots, according to state estimates.
And it’s a major factor in the state’s low workforce participation rate, which measures the number of people actively working or seeking work, according to business leaders at the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce.
As lawmakers work to pass bills during the 60-day Legislative Session, here are three ways they could help parents and providers immediately.
Increase the number of child care workers
For many child care providers, staffing is the biggest obstacle to staying open.
The median hourly wage for child care workers in West Virginia is $11.48, according to labor data.
At the same time, rising housing costs and higher prices for everyday goods have pushed the living wage for a single adult to roughly $20 an hour, leaving providers struggling to attract and retain workers. Across the country, no early childhood educator, which includes child care workers, earns a living wage in any state.
Other states are investing in higher wage support for the recruitment and retention of child care workers, as they face similar shortages to West Virginia’s.
Kentucky now makes licensed child care workers eligible for subsidized care for their own children. Similarly, Ohio lawmakers have introduced a pilot aimed at letting child care providers receive publicly funded child care regardless of income.
West Virginia lawmakers have introduced similar legislation.
If passed, it would reduce the cost of entering the child care field and allow the state to help cover education and training costs. It would also subsidize care for the children of child care workers who work at least part-time. The bill has not yet advanced this session.
Sen. Brian Helton, R-Fayette, is the Health and Human Resources committee chair, which is focused largely on child welfare legislation and oversight of the Department of Human Services.
He said he has not yet put the proposal on his committee’s agenda. However, he said he believes he would take up child care legislation later.
“It’s a good bill, and at some point, it’ll be something we probably do take on,” he said.
Reimburse providers based on enrollment, not attendance
Another barrier for both parents and providers is the changing state policy regarding how child care centers are reimbursed for children who use subsidies.
Since 2020, West Virginia child care providers have been paid based on enrollment, which is the number of children signed up for a program. This is instead of attendance, which is the number of children who attend each day. This pay structure helps providers because more children are typically enrolled than attend due to illnesses or vacations.
But recently, West Virginia’s Department of Human Services changed to the attendance payment model, threatening after-school care at centers across the state.
The department said providers can only be paid in full if children attend for at least four hours a day once a month. The change took effect in late September, catching many providers by surprise.
Federal child care policy under the Child Care and Development Fund program requires states to reimburse providers based on enrollment rather than attendance unless they give a reasonable justification, a change advocates say is intended to give child care programs more predictable revenue.
Providers said the state’s change undercuts the stability enrollment-based reimbursement was meant to provide, and without changes, they warned more programs could be forced to scale back or close, further reducing child care options for working families.
“The owners of private child care centers are in the classrooms working, and trying to keep their businesses open,” said Melissa Colagrosso, a child care provider based in Oak Hill. “They can’t spend all of their time chasing paperwork and fighting the system.”
Last year, West Virginia Department of Human Services Secretary Alex Mayer told lawmakers that confusion stemmed from a memo that was floated to providers about how the state reimburses for children who attend two different centers.
But the department is still reviewing the policy, and nothing has changed.
A DoHS spokesperson said it was a priority, and department officials have met with providers and are reviewing potential adjustments to how after-school care is reimbursed.
Expand the Tri-Share model statewide
It costs West Virginia families about $800 a month on average for infant child care. Care for just one child makes up about 13% of a family’s median income, meaning it is mostly out of reach for low-income workers.
To help offset the cost of childcare for parents, the state could turn to employers.
West Virginia has already tested a Tri-Share model through a pilot program that splits the cost of child care between the employee, employer, and the state based on a parent’s median household income. The approach is designed to help lower out-of-pocket costs for working parents, while giving businesses a tool to retain workers.
So far, it’s helping roughly 30 families afford child care by lowering their weekly costs, allowing them to afford other household expenses.
The pilot was launched in partnership with an education company and over a dozen providers and workplaces in eight counties. Employers involved in the pilot described the program as a retention tool, particularly in cases where child care costs had caused workers to cut back hours or leave jobs.
But the pilot is only funded through August, or until its existing funds are exhausted, unless lawmakers step in to extend or expand the program.
And the program is not unique to the state.
Michigan first piloted the program about four years ago. State officials later expanded it statewide after more than 250 employers participated and families saved an estimated $8 million annually in child care costs. The program now operates with permanent state funding.
In West Virginia, similar ideas have been discussed for years, but lawmakers did not advance several child care bills during last year’s legislative session.
Business leaders say the lack of child care is already affecting workforce participation across the state.
Steve Roberts, president of the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce, said the state has long been labeled a child care desert, where many places that might have jobs have no care options for parents.
“Employers tell us they lose good employees because child care isn’t available, and they see it as a workforce and economic development issue.”