Florida parents know the cost of childcare can be prohibitive -- if they can even find some. Now, a state lawmaker who has four young children is sponsoring a bill aimed at making childcare less costly and more available.
Sarasota Republican Representative Fiona McFarland says childcare and day care and pre-school all mean the same thing.
“We’ve decided as a state that we’re constitutionally required to provide free education for children in K-12, but we don’t talk about what happens before that baby turns 5,” she says.
McFarland has four children under the age of 5. The youngest is a baby she brings with her to Tallahassee. And she says the cost of paying for childcare is stretching her budget.
“Our parents said I can’t have another child because I can’t afford to send them to college," she says. "Well, today I say I can’t have another child because I can’t afford to buy childcare for them. So, this bill addresses that.”
McFarland’s bill would streamline inspections for childcare providers who are in good standing. It would help providers hire employees by reducing the amount of time the Department of Children and Families has to spend on background screening. It would require DCF to offer free training and testing online…
“And my favorite part is it creates a license-exempt category for childcare that’s offered by our employers," McFarland says. "Last year, you all voted on a bill that created a tax credit for employers that want to build or provide their own child care. And this is Part 2 of that, which is, say, if an employer is going to make their own childcare that’s just for their workforce, for their employees’ children or grandchildren to go, that they can be license-exempt.”
The bill would also grant childcare facilities a break from certain local taxes, and it works to make it easier for the businesses to get insurance.
McFarland says she can’t guarantee that childcare prices will drop overnight if her bill becomes law. But she says she’s talked to many employers about it.
“You come and tell me that we have a national workers shortage, you can’t find employees -- have you ever thought about offering childcare? And they said, ‘Yeah. We actually looked at it, but the regulatory burden was too high. I was worried about DCF showing up three times a year and inspecting me on 537 points of inspection, so I just thought I would stick with making widgets’ or whatever it is,” McFarland recalls.
Fort Pierce Republican Representative Dana Trabulsy thanked McFarland, saying that every year she moves the needle on early learning a little further. Trabulsy says the tax credit lawmakers created last year for employer-based childcare has helped her family directly.
“My daughter has two children and the company that my son-in-law works for has taken advantage of the tax credit," she says. "And although the company that he works for couldn’t afford to give him a raise this year, what they could do is offer this benefit, so it’s like putting $7,200 back in their pocket every year, and that’s a big amount when you’re raising a family.”
McFarland says the measure would help her as well as other Floridians.
“This is a bill that I wrote and I worked on and I filed for myself," she says. "I mean, I hope that it will directly benefit me, but for every me that it benefits is another mom in your district that has one kid or 5 kids that are not yet in the K-12 system. And parents everywhere are really hurting on how expensive childcare is. I hope that this helps, even just a little bit.”
Lakeland Republican Senator Colleen Burton is carrying the Senate companion.
