Day Without Child Care: Wisconsinites Decry GOP Budget Cut To Child Care Counts

MADISON, Wis. — On Monday, Wisconsin families and child care providers across the state took part in National Day Without Child Care, calling for action to ensure that families have access to affordable child care and that providers can stay afloat. Meanwhile, Wisconsin Republicans have repeatedly obstructed and sabotaged efforts to expand affordable child care. 

Last week, Republicans on the Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee voted to cut over 600 items from Governor Evers’ budget, including a nearly $500 million investment to make Child Care Counts a permanent state program. Child Care Counts helps working families access quality, affordable child care by funding child care providers to keep their doors open and retain quality staff. Without additional funding, Wisconsin child care providers could be forced to close their doors, with other providers raising tuition, shortening hours, or reducing staff to stay open. Wisconsin families and child care providers deserve better than what the GOP has to offer.

See coverage below on Wisconsinites calling to secure affordable child care:

Spectrum News: “For many parents in Wisconsin, and across the country, their morning didn’t start with dropping their kids off at daycare. That’s because Monday marked the National Day Without Child Care with many providers closing their doors to protest. The move is meant to highlight the need for state investment in early education and care. While it was hardly the first day of its kind, this year’s events felt different after Republicans on the legislature’s budget-writing committee voted last week to remove a $480 million proposal by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers to keep the Child Care Counts program funded for the next two years. ‘How are people going to get to work? How are they going to take care of their families? What’s going to happen? And it’s a big fear, this one feels differently,’ Minority Leader State Sen. Dianne Hesselbein, D-Middleton, explained. Those are just some of the looming questions with no state money put aside to replace federal funds for the Child Care Counts program, which will run out on June 30.” 

Wisconsin Examiner: “At a rally Monday morning in New Glarus, parents, state officials both elected and appointed, education leaders, local economic boosters and child care providers took turns championing the need for a state investment that would strengthen child care providers. […] Democratic lawmakers and parents have since 2023 pushed to continue the monthly Child Care Counts support program that Wisconsin began with the help of federal money during the COVID-19 pandemic. The funds bolstered child care providers’ revenues so they could raise wages without charging parents more for care. ‘We lost 6,000 [child care] programs between 2010 and 2019,’ Hendrickson said at the New Glarus rally. ‘You know what stopped [the decline]? COVID — when we started getting money. All of the sudden we had more programs open at the end of the year than we had at the beginning of the year. It worked.’”

WISC Channel 3000: “Many child care and preschool classrooms across the country were empty Monday as providers nationwide marked a Day Without Child Care — because here in Wisconsin, providers say hundreds will have no choice but to be empty without more funding from the state. Normally on a Monday morning, little Molly Campbell would be running around Arthouse Preschool LLC. Instead, she was running around with her family at Waunakee Village Park. ‘Even taking time out today was tough,’ her father Chris Campbell said, ‘but, you know, supporting this is so much more important.’ […] But if the state doesn’t put funding for child care back in the budget before July, it may get more expensive for parents. […] ‘I mean, people are already closing their doors with what we are getting right now. Dane County has lost in the past ten years, 20% of their child care centers,’ Murray said.”

WMTV 15 News: “Families and childcare providers from across the state gathered on Tuesday at the State Capitol as a part of National Day Without Child Care. Organizers said they are pushing leaders to invest in early care and education in Wisconsin. ‘Childcare is the stabilization of our foundation, of our economy,’ said Corrine Hendrickson, who is the owner of Corrine’s Little Explorers. “And in 2020, everybody all of a sudden realized that and now we’re not any less important. So I don’t understand why your state can’t step up and do the right thing.’ […] According to a recent report by the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families, a quarter of childcare businesses in the state are at risk of closing without funding.”

WKOW 17 News: “Child care workers from across Wisconsin gathered on the State Capitol steps Tuesday for the ‘State Without Child Care’ rally. They’re fighting for the $480 million Gov. Tony Evers proposed to fund child care for the next two years. Last Thursday, state Republicans voted against this. Among them are Joint Finance Committee co-chairs Sen. Howard Marklein (R-Spring Green) and Rep. Mark Born (R-Beaver Dam). […] At the rally, protesters said if change doesn’t happen soon, they won’t be around to voice input in the next budget or other legislation. Instead, the doors to their child care centers will be closed — some say as soon as this fall. For Katie Steiber, she’s sending a message by shutting her child care center doors — herself. ‘The number one reaction we’ve gotten to the strike is that it’s inconvenient, and unfortunately, that’s the purpose, that we need people to be inconvenienced,’ said Steiber.” 

WQOW 18 News: “Julia Bennker is the owner and operator of Miss Julia’s Schoolia, a family childcare provider. Bennker advocates heavily for providers, saying that many in the state are facing staff cuts, reductions in service, or outright closure if Child Care Counts ends. […] According to a state Department of Children and Family-administered survey, roughly 25% of providers feel they could close if funding ended. ‘Funding early childhood education is an investment. It is an investment that yields returns in our future and creates future productive citizens of Wisconsin—future taxpayers, future contributors who are our economy and culture,’ Nate Otto, an Eau Claire City Councilmember, said.”

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