Your local childcare facilities will get extra money to support their employees for nearly two years. Governor Tony Evers announced earlier this week that he was directing $170 million in emergency federal funding to extend the Child Care Counts program to June 2025. Without the influx of cash, the program would have ended in January 2024. The maneuver was in contrast to plans by the Republican-led Wisconsin Legislature to cut income taxes, offer tax-free accounts for parental and facility costs, and remove regulations limiting who could work as their way to address the shortage of childcare centers and workers in the state. United Way of Door County Childcare Community Coordinator Molly Gary is thankful that the funding gives the county’s centers time, but she still hopes for a more long-term solution.

While Democrats and Republicans spar over the public dollars being used to support the industry in Wisconsin, Minnesota doubled down on that concern this week. According to Minnesota Public News, the state’s Great Start Compensation Program is earmarking approximately $316 million over the next two years and $130 million every year after that to support wages for childcare workers for facility owners that apply.