Indiana families spent 17 months in limbo. Starting in December 2024, no new children could enroll in the state's childcare voucher program — the one that helps working parents afford care so they can actually go to work. The waitlist kept growing until it hit 35,000 kids. That's 35,000 families where a parent may have had to cut hours, turn down a job, or leave the workforce entirely. That's not a statistic — that's a neighbor who lost ground they may never get back.
Governor Braun stepped in with a one-time $200 million from the General Fund to reopen enrollments in May 2026, and I'm grateful for that. But a one-time fix doesn't keep the lights on. If the funding runs dry again, we're back to a waitlist, back to families in crisis, and back to childcare providers who can't plan their staffing or keep their doors open. Indiana's economy depends on parents being able to work, and parents can't work without affordable childcare. This isn't complicated — it's just math.
Please commit to making stable, ongoing funding for Indiana's CCDF childcare voucher program a priority before the next budget cycle, so no family ever spends another 17 months waiting for their child to get a spot.
