Favorable
Committee: Ways & Means
HB 1139
The Maryland Catholic Conference offers this testimony in support of House Bill 1139. The Catholic Conference is the public policy representative of the three (arch)dioceses serving Maryland, which together encompass over one million Marylanders. Statewide, their parishes, schools, hospitals and numerous charities combine to form our state’s second largest social service provider network, behind only our state government.
House Bill 1139 would make permanent the Growing Family Child Care Opportunities Program in the Department of Education, established through a pilot program in 2021 through HB 944 of that year. The creation of the pilot program was supported by the Conference. Through this bill, MSDE is afforded the ability to provide grants to local jurisdictions or childcare licensing regions to increase the supply and ensure the sustainability of family childcare providers in areas with higher numbers of low-income Marylanders. The bill mandates a very modest funding level of $450,000, starting in FY 2026 and each fiscal year thereafter.
These grants would provide much needed support to a promote growth of a vital and essential sector of Marylander’s everyday lives. Several hundred childcare providers have been forced to close their doors in Maryland since early 2020, leading to less options for childcare access for working families. The passage of this bill would help to reverse the trend of the declining number of childcare providers in the state, thus providing greater access to childcare options and stabilizing costs for Maryland parents.
Childcare is an essential component to supporting strong, economically secure families. Additionally, the Church supports this bill as a part of its priority interest in alleviating poverty in our state, as enabling working parents’ continued access to childcare services is an imperative part of combating poverty. Often, a barrier to sustainable and full-time employment is the availability and affordability of reliable childcare services. The State should thus do all it can to support access to childcare services for working parents.
The Conference appreciates your consideration, and for these reasons, respectfully requests a favorable report on House Bill 1139.