Growing Family Child Care Opportunities Program - Funding
Summary
HB742 requires the Governor to include a $450,000 appropriation in the annual state budget for the Growing Family Child Care Opportunities Program for specified fiscal years: 2023, 2024, 2026, and 2028 through 2030. The bill leaves the existing structure of the program in place, including the Department of Education’s role in administering it with the Maryland Child Care Resource Network, and the program’s purpose of awarding grants to local jurisdictions or child care licensing regions to establish and support family child care providers.
The bill continues the program’s grant framework for local child care expansion efforts. Eligible applicants remain county governing bodies, or multiple counties acting together, that partner with a child care resource center through a memorandum of understanding and jointly apply for and administer the local program. The bill also preserves the Department’s authority to seek funding and to begin awarding grants as soon as possible if funding is received early. Its effective date is July 1, 2026.
Impact
HB742 amends Section 9.5-114 of the Education Article to extend and specify state funding obligations for the Growing Family Child Care Opportunities Program. It does not create a new program or change eligibility rules, but it does make the appropriation requirement more explicit for future budget cycles and directs the Governor to use federal funds if permitted to satisfy the state funding requirement. The practical effect is to support continued grant funding for family child care start-up and expansion efforts across local jurisdictions and child care licensing regions.
Sentiment
The bill appears to have broad support. It received a favorable committee report in the House and passed third reading in both chambers with strong margins, including unanimous passage in the Senate. The voting history suggests the measure was viewed as a straightforward funding bill for child care capacity and family-based providers rather than a controversial policy change.
Contention
There is little evidence of major contention in the available record. The main substantive issue is fiscal: the bill requires recurring appropriations and allows federal funds to be used if available, which may raise budgetary questions about how the program is financed in future years. Any disagreement would likely center on state spending priorities and the extent to which the Governor must include the specified appropriation in the budget, but the vote totals suggest those concerns did not generate significant opposition.