'In a state of crisis': Wyoming child development centers seriously underfunded, critics say (2024)

Wyoming Tribune-Eagle
Nov 16, 2023

Nov. 16—CHEYENNE — Three child development centers in Wyoming are at risk of closing if they don't receive sufficient state funding, according to Alisha Rone, the executive director of one such facility in Natrona County.

Child development centers in her area have struggled to operate on insufficient state funding for years, and Rone called on lawmakers to fulfill their statutory obligation to serve children with special learning needs.

"I have to raise $1 million a year to keep my program at what it is," Rone said. "It is not the donors' responsibility to keep our programs open — it is the state's obligation."

Child development center teachers and representatives stressed to members of the Legislature's Joint Education Committee on Wednesday the need for sufficient state funding to keep preschool development programs running.

Lawmakers heard emotional testimonies from parents who spoke highly of early intervention programs, such as STRIDE Learning Center in Cheyenne, that did wonders for their children. One mother of two autistic sons tearfully recalled her experiences with STRIDE.

"STRIDE has always gone above and beyond," she said. "I'm here today, hoping you approve this (bill), so no one will have to face the struggles in having to search for other sources."

A draft bill that proposed a new method for preschool development funding, as well as increased the budget request, was passed by members of the Joint Education Committee on Wednesday.

"Normally, something like this would be handled through the budget process," said committee co-Chairman Sen. Charles Scott, R-Casper. "But we've got specific figures in the statutes here, and so we need to amend the statutes."

Scott referred to the bill as a "vehicle." The bill draft worked two-fold, amending how the Wyoming Department of Health calculated preschool development funding in its budget requests, as well as the actual figures requested.

This year, WDH requested an allocation of $12.3 million from the general fund to go toward early intervention and education programs in the state. Part of the budget request included a $7 million balance that was not approved out of the department's $11 million request last year.

Matt Petry, senior administrator for the Behavioral Health Division, told lawmakers the WDH is statutorily required to include underfunded requests not approved by the Legislature from the previous fiscal year.

"And you can see, that repeated (historically)," Petry said, referring to a table listing past external cost adjustment requests from the department. "Regardless of whether this bill is passed or we maintain the existing methodology, that approach would remain consistent."

Costs of early intervention programs

Rone told lawmakers it costs approximately $12,000 per child annually to efficiently run a child development center program. One issue her county's programs have faced is taking in children that have not been accounted for in state funding, forcing them to self-fund the costs.

Rone proposed an amendment to the bill draft to required a biannual child count to consider in allocated state funding, instead of just once a year on Dec. 1.

"We get a total of about 60 children between Dec. 1 and May 1 without any funding," Rone said.

Petry, from WDH, agreed that including a May 1 child count would provide a more accurate snapshot for state funding. Lawmakers discussed whether this was something to amend in the bill now, or put off as an interim study topic in the next year. Sen. Chris Rothfuss, D-Laramie, worried that putting off the agenda item might mean never getting it passed into legislation.

"It's certainly within the purview of this bill to do something as simple as change a word from 'December' to 'May,'" Rothfuss said.

The bill draft was advanced with the added amendment, per Rothfuss's suggestion.

Importance of state funding

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act guarantees access to a "free and appropriate public education" for children with disabilities. Two of the four major parts provided under IDEA relate to the Early Intervention and Education Program (EIEP):

— Part B, which is federally mandated, covers children ages 3 through 21

— Part C, which is optional but offered in all 50 states, covers children from birth through 2 years old

Federal funding for the EIEP is matched by state funding, but, as it often is with federal government funding, there are strings attached. The match requirement set by the federal government must maintain the same level of state funding in the previous or subsequent year. A child count conducted at least once a year impacts state funding — if the number of qualified children increases, state appropriation is expected to increase.

If the number of children in the programs stays the same, allocated state funding is required to stay the same.

"The federal government expects it to stay that way," Petry said.

Failure to fund early intervention programs at the same level with the same amount of allocated funding "brings consequences" at the federal level, Petry said. Should the state fail to hold up its end of the bargain in term of providing consistent funding, the federal government will demand recovery of its matched funds.

"That's not a penalty assessed into the future to say, 'We will reduce your federal grant amount,'" Petry said. "It is an actual recovery of funds for when the grants were made. So, there are certainly some strings attached, much more so for the 3- to 5-year-olds."

Sen. Scott asked Petry whether this was a provision the state was currently in trouble with, and whether the bill draft's current language had an impact on maintenance of effort, which is part of the required funding match for the program.

Petry confirmed it did.

"The consequences of cutting state funding to the Part B portion of the program is significantly more complicated and potentially carries more consequences than cuts to the Part C program," Petry said, adding that Part B received twice as much in funding.

Cuts to Part C aren't without their own consequences, however. Child care development centers that rely on funding from this part of the program are forced to cover the remaining funds needed to continue operation and rely on charitable donations.

Hannah Shields is the Wyoming Tribune Eagle's state government reporter. She can be reached at 307-633-3167 or hshields@wyomingnews.com. You can follow her on X @happyfeet004.

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