About 16,000 families waiting for child care vouchers after pandemic funds run out

Mississippi Child Care Crisis Deepens as Pandemic Funding Ends

Cantrell Keyes, director of Agape Christian Academy World in Jackson, Mississippi, faces a grim reality: 90-hour workweeks, monthly losses of $15,000, and the looming possibility of closing her child care center after nearly three decades in the industry.

“I have been in the industry for close to 30 years now and never in my wildest dreams did I think that I would be going out like this,” Keyes said, fighting back tears.

The crisis stems from the expiration of COVID-era federal funding that had enhanced Mississippi’s Child Care Payment Program. Nearly half of the 46 families attending Keyes’ center lost access to these essential vouchers last spring. Ten families left the facility entirely, while another ten remain but cannot pay full tuition.

This scenario is playing out across Mississippi, where approximately 16,000 families now sit on a waitlist for child care vouchers according to the Mississippi Department of Human Services (MDHS). During the pandemic, states received $52 billion in federal funds to bolster voucher programs helping working families afford child care. As this funding has evaporated, the effects are cascading throughout communities.

“It’s a huge crisis for child care centers and parents, and we’re hearing from them every day,” said Carol Burnett of the Mississippi Low-Income Child Care Initiative. “This one center’s experience times a thousand is really what’s happening in Mississippi right now.”

The MDHS has resumed its annual eligibility reviews, and families earning above qualifying thresholds are losing their vouchers. While Mississippi lawmakers appropriated $15 million in state funds to the voucher program during the last legislative session—marking the first time the state committed such resources—this amount was less than half what the department requested.

Despite the obvious need, MDHS Director Bob Anderson did not request additional child care funding during September’s Legislative Budget Committee hearing. Instead, he sought $15 million to cover administrative costs for the Supplemental Nutrition Access Program, which faces new federally-mandated requirements following recent congressional changes.

The Legislature could still choose to appropriate money for child care in the spring, but experts suggest that priorities have shifted away from making child care more affordable, despite the ongoing crisis.

Meanwhile, providers like Keyes struggle to keep their doors open. She’s had to let six employees go, reduce four staff members from full-time to part-time, and take on extra duties herself, including driving the bus and preparing lesson plans.

“I’m just handling it day by day by day right now,” she said. “And sometimes I feel like I’m underneath the water and just my face is up with my nose and I’m really trying not to come under because the community needs us.”

Keyes has made extraordinary efforts to avoid turning families away, including offering discounted tuition to parents who contribute work around the school. Many children at her center come from households with young, single parents or are being cared for by grandparents. Nearly two-thirds of the families either currently receive vouchers or have in the past.

Jazmine Donerson, a single mother who interns as a medical assistant full-time while working evening shifts at Family Dollar, recently lost everything in an apartment fire. Losing her child care voucher has made it nearly impossible to make payments.

“If my daughter wasn’t able to come to this daycare, I wouldn’t have anybody to watch her. I wouldn’t be able to go to school and try to better both our lives,” Donerson explained.

Child development experts emphasize that consistency in care is crucial for young children. “To have to move around and have an uncertain child care situation, it causes anxiety and stress in the parents, and it causes anxiety and stress in the baby—even if you don’t see it, it’s there,” said Biz Harris of the Mississippi Early Learning Alliance.

The economic implications extend beyond families and providers. A study by the Century Foundation projects that the nationwide loss of pandemic funding for child care will cost states $10.6 billion in lost economic activity.

Elliot Haspel, a nationally recognized child and family policy expert, explains that child care in the United States is more expensive than in any other country because there is no coordinated public system like there is for K-12 education.

“We treat child care in this country much more like a private, individual commodity than we do more of a public or social good like public schools or fire departments,” said Haspel. “So, there’s very little public money in the system, and the economics don’t work without it.”

Looking ahead, Governor Tate Reeves has asked lawmakers to provide $1 million this session to expand child care access through a “tri-share model” where employers, employees, and the state government share costs. While advocates welcome any additional funding, they note that this investment is relatively small compared to the need.

Without immediate assistance, Keyes plans to start delivering orders for DoorDash to earn extra income. She doesn’t want to lay off any more staff before the holidays but doesn’t know how much longer she can hold out.

“It’s not about money for me—I don’t pay myself a salary,” said Keyes. “I do it because I want to see the children grow. When you have a great beginning, you have a great ending. In child care, we’re the beginning for everything. We pour into them what they need.”