The Mississippi Senate voted Thursday to add $15 million for child care vouchers to House Bill 1909, the state budget for the Department of Human Services, Mississippi Today reported. The funding is intended to help roughly 20,000 low‑income families who have been waitlisted for subsidies since pandemic‑era federal funds ran out in April, the report said.
The money is not final. The Senate Appropriations Committee placed the funding in an amendment to HB 1909 and the bill will be amended again before it can reach Gov. Tate Reeves’ desk, Mississippi Today reported. The bill includes a reverse repealer, which requires additional debate and at least one more vote, the report said.
Rep. Clay Deweese, R‑Oxford and the principal author of the original bill, told Mississippi Today he had not yet reviewed the amendment and declined to state his opinion. Rep. Sam Creekmore, R‑New Albany and another author of the bill, told Mississippi Today that with his “limited knowledge” he would favor keeping the Senate’s amendment.
Advocates and affected families said the funding would help but fall short. Amaya Jones, a single mother of a 6‑year‑old and a 1‑year‑old in Jackson, told Mississippi Today she has been without vouchers since June and sometimes must miss work when her mother is too ill to care for the children. Child care provider Lynne Black told Mississippi Today she has lost nearly 100 children since April and has cut staff at two centers in Tupelo from 14 employees to five.
Matt Williams, director of research at the Mississippi Low‑Income Child Care Initiative, told Mississippi Today that “even with this needed investment, thousands of families will remain on the child care waiting list.” Bob Anderson, director of the Mississippi Department of Human Services, has said publicly resolving the waitlist would require about $60 million, Mississippi Today reported. Sen. David Blount, D‑Jackson, said he would like to increase the funding when the bill goes to conference and called child care a legislative priority, the report said.
Jon Ross Myers is the executive editor and publisher of the Mississippi News Network, Mississippi's largest digital only media company. He can be reached at editor@tippahnews.com
