With the state’s Child Care Bridge Payments program expiring this week, providers across Wisconsin are expected to raise rates, putting a further strain on parental budgets.
Rep. David Armstrong, R-Rice Lake, says the end of the program “is going to hurt.” He spoke Friday during a virtual panel organized by the Wisconsin Policy Forum focused on what’s ahead for the state’s childcare industry.
The Child Care Bridge Payments Program was established when the earlier Child Care Counts pandemic-era stabilization program was set to expire about a year ago, but is now ending June 30th with nothing to replace it. Panelists emphasized the impact of the program’s loss, both on childcare programs and the families that rely on them.
Jeff Pertl, secretary for the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families, noted the Child Care Counts program helped reverse a downward trend in the number of childcare providers in the state.
“I think at every data point, we really see that this sort of foundational investment in providers stabilizes the market,” he said, adding “Counts really worked, and without it, we’re going to see fewer providers and higher prices.”
Those concerns were echoed by others on the panel, including Lisa Jensen, director of the Roots & Branches childcare program within the Frederic School District. With the loss of the program revenues, the childcare program is planning a “large increase” in rates of $20 per week, per child, she said.
“In our area, the median income is about $77,000 per household, so that will be an impact,” she said Friday. “There’s quite a shortage of daycare in the area, so I know that our daycare will remain full. But it is going to put families in situations where they’re going to not be able to afford daycare.”
Jensen added this will impact other industries in the area, noting the importance of childcare for workers.
Meanwhile, Envision Greater Fond du Lac President and CEO Sadie Howell said the county’s 32 licensed childcare centers have “really started to raise their rates” within the last three years. Based on outreach in recent months, they’re now expecting to raise their rates by a further 5-10%, she said.
The area had a childcare center close unexpectedly just a month ago, and two others say they’re not sure if they’ll be able to remain open with the program ending, Howell said.
“So we’re already stretched really thin, and it is really concerning about what the future of childcare might look like in Fond du Lac County,” she said.
Friday’s panel followed the release of the latest childcare market rate survey, showing 60% of childcare slots in Wisconsin are considered affordable. While that’s an improvement from 41% in 2025, it’s below the 75% federal and state affordability threshold.
The state Department of Children and Families last week warned the end of the childcare subsidy program would likely mean higher prices for families across the state.
