Mississippi works to update child care regulations to avoid risk of losing federal funding

By Sophia Paffenroth | Originally published by Mississippi Today

Mississippi needs to prioritize updating its child care regulations or risk losing related federal funding. New regulations would also help to improve child safety and program quality, reduce administrative burdens and provide clearer guidance for providers, said Chad Allgood, director for Early Childhood Care and Development at the Mississippi Department of Human Services, in a public meeting Wednesday. 

Two child care advisory councils, made up of child care providers, advocates and state employees, agreed during the meeting to write new regulations that comply with federal guidelines over the next year. 

“This is a collaborative effort to help support and strengthen our child care system as a whole,” Allgood said.

Last year, the state put the issue on hold after child care providers pushed back against the Mississippi Department of Health for proposing new regulations without their input. 

The advisory councils typically focus on affordability and licensure. Members of the two councils will split up into smaller focus groups in the coming weeks to brainstorm regulations to help them better serve the state’s youngest citizens. The groups will also draft the bulk of the regulations, including compliance with federal health and safety requirements, within six months, Allgood said. 

If Mississippi does not comply with federal guidelines, it could lose its Child Care Development Fund, the federal block grant. The grant pays for much of the state’s voucher program, which offers discounted child care to low-income families. The program has been in crisis for a year since pandemic-era funds ran out. Thousands of families are on a waiting list for assistance, and several child care centers have closed under the strain of financial uncertainty. 

With the voucher program already underfunded, Allgood said, the state “cannot risk losing CCDF money.” He said the federal government has been lenient with Mississippi because his department has kept lines of communication open.

While it’s not clear what changes new regulations will bring, child care providers who attended the public meeting called for more clarity on what to do in common situations, such as when multiple employees call out sick. 

Allgood also mentioned the need to reexamine the maximum amount a facility can be fined for the most egregious violations, such as negligence that results in a child’s death. 

“It is insulting to only assign a $500 penalty for that,” Allgood said. 

Once new regulations are drafted, there will be opportunities for public comment.

This article was originally published by Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

Source: Original Article