Over the weekend, with just days left in Alaska’s legislative session, the legislature took monumental action to support Alaska’s children, families, and workforce. We are thrilled to share that both SB95 and SB96 have passed, and critical child care grant funding has been restored in the state budget. These wins would not have been possible without the tireless efforts of advocates, families, lawmakers, and leaders across the state.
Alaska’s child care system has been in crisis. More than 150 programs have closed in recent years, leaving families scrambling for care and child care programs struggling to stay open. A staggering 51% of parents have reported being unable to work because they can’t find child care. The impacts on children, families, and Alaska’s workforce are profound.
Thanks to strong grassroots advocacy and leadership from the legislature and the governor, we’re starting to turn a corner. Over the past week alone, more than 2,000 emails were sent to lawmakers through thread’s action alerts, 75 phone calls were made, and 140 people joined a peaceful rally on the Capitol steps in support of child care funding. thread facilitated three trips to Juneau this session, leading to more than 130 meetings with legislators. Together, we helped generate over 20 media stories lifting the voices of families, educators, and community leaders.
We’re proud to share that the legislature passed two major bills this session:
- SB95 expands access to child care assistance for more families by raising income eligibility limits, improving quality standards, and helping families gradually transition off of subsidies.
- SB96 establishes tax credits for businesses that invest in child care for their employees, supporting a stronger workforce and making it easier for employers to retain working parents.
These policy wins are directly connected to the child care grant funding we fought so hard to protect. The legislature’s conference committee restored $7.725 million in ongoing funding for Child Care Grants, providing critical operating support to child care professionals and programs across the state. In addition, the legislature restored $5.6 million for the Infant Learning Program, ensuring more families with children experiencing developmental delays can get the support they need early.
We’re especially grateful to Governor Dunleavy for his leadership in establishing the Governor’s Task Force on Child Care and his continued commitment to addressing Alaska’s child care crisis.
This year’s successes were made possible by the combined efforts of many legislators from across the political spectrum, child care professionals, businesses, families, and every advocate who made a call, sent an email, or shared their story. The support for child care solutions is truly bipartisan and statewide.
thread is proud to stand with our partners and champions in building a stronger child care system for Alaska. Let’s keep the momentum going! Care Can’t Wait!