Childcare. PC: Fox 11 Online
APPLETON, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — Wisconsin’s childcare bridge payments are set to expire on Tuesday, $110 million payments funded by state taxpayers and given straight to childcare providers.
“They have gone toward the things that make quality early care and education possible every single day,” said Nicole Seebruck Zellmer of Bridges Child Enrichment Center in Appleton. “They have allowed us to maintain lower child-to-staff ratios, giving our teachers the time and capacity to truly meet each child’s individual needs.”
The program was included for one year between 2025-2026 as part of the state’s biennial budget, replacing the federal relief that benefitted childcare providers since near the beginning of the pandemic.
“For years, this vital industry has been kept afloat by the childcare bridge payments program funded by the state of Wisconsin,” said State Sen. Kristin Dassler-Alfheim, D-Appleton.
In the Appleton area, Bridges and Cradle to Crayons in Kimberly said they’ll need to raise prices by 7-10%, an estimated $100 per month per student. And a recent UW-Madison study said 1 in 4 providers say they’re “at least somewhat likely” to close without funding.
“Parents are already stretched to the breaking point while providers are operating on razor thin margins,” said Julie Stoffel of Cradle to Crayons. “That is why so many centers have closed and will continue to.”
In Madison, the question is whether the state should take the $110 million from taxpayers for childcare, especially when other subsidies already exist for low-income families. Most Democrats say yes.
“I think that we can’t afford not to, and I think you need to think about this, this is not just childcare, this is early childhood education,” said State Rep. Lee Snodgrass, D-Appleton. “And we can see all the evidence that when we invest in children early, the outcomes are greater.”
But many Republicans say the payments were designed to be temporary and should stay in the taxpayers’ hands.
“What’s really pro-family is to allow the family to hold on to their money themselves and spend it the way they think is best, and maybe that’s in childcare,” said State Rep. Ron Tusler, R-Harrison. “But every time you send your money to Madison, you’re not sure how it’s going to come back.”
But until lawmakers act in Madison, childcare costs are likely to increase in Appleton and around the state, if the centers don’t close entirely.
State lawmakers are unlikely to approve any funding before the next election, meaning the earliest payments would resume is January.
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