POCATELLO — Over 50 people gathered for a rally near Pocatello’s City Hall Wednesday morning to protest against the decision by the Idaho Legislature’s Joint Finance Appropriations Committee to take away the wage enhancement grant to help retain childcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Participants in the rally wore purple shirts and stood along the sidewalk for two hours with signs that read “Protect Childcare” and “Don’t Walk Out On Us.”
Childcare businesses around Idaho were expecting the wage enhancement grant, part of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, to end in June of this year, but JFAC eliminated the grant on Feb. 27 to save funds.
This grant provided funding for childcare services nationwide and Idaho is the first and only state to remove the grant early.
The Idaho Legislature could decide to reinstate the grant funding eliminated by JFAC. The issue came up at a press conference with legislative leaders hosted by the Idaho Press Club on Wednesday.
Idaho House Speaker Mike Moyle, R-Star, said he was unaware of JFAC’s decision to approve a budget without the child care funding. It “hasn’t been on my radar,” he said, later suggesting that legislators may approve the funds separately in these final weeks of the legislative session.
Idaho Senate President Pro Tem Chuck Winder, R-Boise, said he was unaware of the reason behind JFAC’s vote but added that he intends to investigate it further.
House and Senate Democratic leaders Sen. Melissa Wintrow and Rep. Ilana Rubel, both from Boise, said they do not understand why JFAC would deny child care assistance.
“This is an inflection point for every other industry. Every industry in the state counts on child care access, whether you are in manufacturing or whether you’re in food services or whatever you’re in, your workers need child care,” Rubel said. “And these funds are very badly needed. I think it can still be fixed, but it’s going to be an uphill battle.”
Kari Giesbrecht, the owner of Kari’s Korner daycare centers in Pocatello and Preston, organized Wednesday’s Pocatello rally with her daughter Kali Giesbrecht by contacting 150 childcare centers around Idaho. Nearly 50 percent of the businesses said they are being forced to close their doors because of JFAC’s choice to remove the grant, Kari said.
“I had ladies crying on the phone because they have to shut down next month for not being able to continue functioning because it was such a quick cutoff. We’ve all been preparing, but we thought we had until June,” Kari said.
Kari reflected on the consequences of the grant being taken away early.
“When we shut down, then the parents can’t go to work. When the parents can’t go to work then other businesses shut down because they can’t find employees. I don’t think that (JFAC members) understand that. I just want our voices to be heard,” she said.
The grant gave every childcare worker an extra $300 monthly in pay in response to the extreme impact the COVID-19 pandemic had on childcare centers. The number of families Kari’s Korner serviced, for example, decreased from 60 to 12.
Kari said it’s been very difficult for her and other childcare providers to find workers when fast-food chains are offering employees more money than they can afford.
“For us to be able to afford to obtain and retain quality childcare (workers), everyone has been unfortunately relying on (the grant). It’s been such a significant help,” Kari said.
Kari, who’s been in business since 2012, is tremendously passionate about childcare and is quite worried about the repercussions of daycares shutting down.
“Children and childcare have been my passion since I was a teenager. I’m doing this (protest) because not only does (JFAC’s decision) affect me, but it affects so many men and women in the childcare profession and we deserve to be heard,” Kari said. “The significant damage that it’s going to cause is not only to us as small business owners and childcare professionals, but also to the community. If we shut down, there’s going to be underground daycares where the providers aren’t being regulated, and I’m worried about the children.”
The Idaho Capital Sun contributed to this report.