I was the city of St. Paul’s child care coordinator in the 1990s. I worked at Ramsey County Human Services as a planner, including work with the county’s child care assistance program. I am also a mother who raised two children in St. Paul, two children who benefited from outstanding child care by an amazing child care provider. I agree with the City Council that this community and our economy cannot flourish if all families cannot find and pay for high-quality child care. But I also agree with Mayor Melvin Carter that the city is not the right entity to deliver funds to families to help them pay for the cost of child care (“St. Paul mayor says he won’t implement child care measure,” Oct. 16).
This election St. Paul voters have a chance to vote yes or no on a proposal to raise property taxes — $2 million in the first year and $20 million a year by year 10. Those funds will serve a small fraction of the children needing child care. And a significant portion of those funds will have to be spent on the administration of the program.
In 2023, Minnesota spent $236.7 million federal and state dollars in the child care assistance programs, which helped 11,540 families pay for child care that year. The state program is administered by the counties — which have eligibility workers, a state mainframe computer system and expertise in verifying income, assets and other eligibility criteria as well as the means to pay child care providers. The city has none of that infrastructure.
The current state investment does not cover all the families who need help paying child care costs so they can stay employed in their children’s youngest years. State legislators have been proposing and considering legislation in recent years to fully fund the state’s child care assistance program. I would ask the St. Paul City Council members, Mayor Carter and voters to put energy and attention in advocating for a significant increase in the state’s investment — an investment that would make a major difference for Minnesota’s economy and for families with children.
Deborah Schlick, St. Paul
