Florida's subsidized child care programs for the working poor have 68,000 kids on their waiting lists. And as the state tries to help, it has only muddied the waters.
In late June, just before the new budget year, Florida's 31 early learning coalitions got the news: changes in their funding. One of the biggest losers was the Early Learning Coalition of Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties, which lost $3.7 million, starting six days later. 1,000 kids lost their child care. The Early Learning Coalition of the Big Bend lost $600,000. Executive director Lauren Faison saved the kids' places but had to cut support for the providers.
"When you lose so much money in such a short time, you have to plug the hole somehow", said Faison. "And it was: Do you cut children? Or do you stop supporting our businesses? And that's not a debate anyone wants to find themselves in, quality vs. quantity. We need both."
The businesses are the providers, who must meet certain standards for the coalitions to refer to them. The kids are children of the working poor; the idea is to prepare them for school while helping their parents hold jobs. But Shaleen Fagunda, who owns the Interamerican Learning Center in Miami, says the cuts threaten the whole network of providers statewide.
"That's the domino. When I start losing children, my ratios are going to go up", Fagunda explianed. "I'm going to start combining classes. That's how the ratios are going to end up going up that way. Eventually, if it keeps going down, I'm going to let go of staff, and eventually, I'm going to close my doors."
Some areas, like Broward and Southwest Florida, got more money, not less. But this is just the first year. The state plans to phase in five more years of cuts and increases. Miami-Dade, for instance, will lose another $22 million.
Now all the coalitions have united, asking the state to freeze the cuts. Miami-Dade coalition director Evelio Torres says the areas that lost money should plug the holes as best they can, and those that gained should keep the money.
"Honestly, this is so difficult. It's much more difficult than just saying we're going to take money from some and give it to others", said Torres. "There's a whole domino effect that takes place, and we really don't want to see anyone else going through that."
Leon County Commissioner Bryan Desloge chairs the board of the Big Bend coalition. He's also president of the Florida Association of Counties. It doesn't make sense to him to cut the programs when there are waiting lists statewide.
"And I realize a lot of people from a conservative standpoint think, 'Well, maybe this isn't where we should be spending tax dollars. Let me make the argument here that says every time we help somebody out with child care, we put somebody to work. And for every time we deny child care, this is somebody who can't go to work because they can't afford to", Desloge said.
The state Office of Early Learning did not respond to requests for comment, but provided a handout saying the formula will be fair in the long run. A spokeswoman for Governor Rick Scott said he "looks forward to developing a fair reimbursement system with early learning coalitions throughout Florida."