The Mississippi Department of Human Services said Wednesday it has set aside $5 million to cover child-care vouchers for about 800 children, but more than 6,000 families remain on a waitlist, the agency said.
“Childcare is not a luxury — it is the infrastructure that makes work possible for Mississippi families,” Bob Anderson, executive director of the department, said in a press release. Anderson called the investment “targeted” and “responsible” and said it reflects the department’s “commitment to deploying public resources where they make a real difference,” the release said.
Lawmakers declined last month to appropriate funding for child care, leaving many early childhood educators without salaries while they continued providing care to families on the voucher waitlist, Mississippi Today reported. MDHS said the program had relied on pandemic-era federal funds that ran out in early 2025.
MDHS said the $5 million comes from unspent money in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program. The department has said Mississippi transfers the maximum 30% of TANF funds to the state-run voucher program; MDHS officials previously said the state could not use more federal TANF money than it already devotes to child care. Advocates have pointed to other states that redirected additional TANF funds without exceeding the 30% limit, Mississippi Today reported, and state officials said in January they were exploring that model’s viability, MDHS said.
Carol Burnett, executive director of the Mississippi Low-Income Child Care Initiative, called the MDHS move “a fabulous move in the right direction” and said it sets a precedent, Mississippi Today reported. Mark Jones, director of communications for MDHS, told Mississippi Today the agency was taking a “fiscally conservative stance” on the initial investment and will consider a future increase in October.
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
