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Minnesota lawmakers discuss childcare and pre-K funding in state budget

"Right now childcare and early learning are super expensive for families. Some families are paying like half of their income," DFL representative Dave Pinto says.

SAINT PAUL, Minn. — State lawmakers are working through the weekend, trying to hash out a budget before the deadline next week.

At $52 billion, the state budget can seem overwhelming.

The biggest portion, nearly 40% of the total budget, centers around K-12 education.

Pre-K and childcare however, make up a much smaller piece of the pie.

DFL Representative Dave Pinto chairs the Early Childhood Finance and Policy Committee.

He says early childhood funding is often overshadowed by other spending priorities in the budget.

“It’s so critical that our state get on a different path when it comes to this and recognize the importance of these early years,” Pinto says.

"Right now childcare and early learning are super expensive for families. Some families are paying like half of their income."

Pinto and other members of the committee met Saturday morning to discuss the many changes in this year's budget.

While he would have liked to see more, Pinto is pleased that there will be more funding added to the Child Care Assistance Program, which helps low-income families pay for child care.

"Right now, we have some of the lowest rates in the country in terms of how those calculations work out and so we're going to be lifting those rates at least somewhat,” Pinto explains.

The budget also includes funding to maintain a lot of pre-K programs that are already in place, but Pinto says there is no funding to add more programs or additional pre-K slots in Minnesota.

“We have secured some of the pre-school slots that were scheduled to be cut off. We’re going to make sure those spots, those programs continue,” Pinto says.

Despite these efforts, Pinto expects that many parents will continue to struggle to find opportunities for their kids in the short term.

However, in the long term, Pinto says there is a portion of the budget that will pay for a new task force that will work to find ways to make childcare more affordable for families and more profitable for providers.

"The people doing the work are hardly paid anything and the parents are paying a lot. The reason for that is just the economics don't work without some sort of public support,” Pinto says.

Employment experts believe childcare is a big reason why the U.S. is currently seeing an employment shortage.

Many employers across the country are struggling to find workers and many workers are deciding it's cheaper to instead stay home to take care of their children.

When it comes to this early childhood funding, the house, senate and governor are all behind it.

They just have to formally vote on it this weekend.

However, there are still several issues being debated at the capitol, including funding for public safety, with police accountability being a hot issue.

Lawmakers are trying to finish up their budget negotiations before the deadline on July 1.



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