SEATTLE — More Washington children are expected to qualify for public child care and preschool programs in 2025 and 2026.

But in the final weeks of his administration, Gov. Jay Inslee has proposed a budget that could delay the expansions for several years.

Although it will be months before state lawmakers finalize the budget, Inslee's proposals suggest a potential outcome for early learning amid the state's budget crunch: increasing provider pay while delaying more affordable access for thousands of children.

In 2021, state lawmakers passed the Fair Start for Kids Act, sweeping legislation meant to boost access to and lower costs for families in the child care and early learning system. The act set a schedule to ensure more children would be eligible for two major state programs.

Inslee's budget proposal pushes back that schedule to save money as the state faces an estimated budget shortfall of $10 to $12 billion over the next four years.

In remarks this month, the governor said he didn't want the state to "go backward" on subsidized child care.

In budget documents, his office indicated that increasing pay would help stabilize providers. Child care and early learning providers face low margins and have seen high staff turnover, especially since the pandemic.

Sen. Claire Wilson, D-Auburn, the vice chair of the Senate Early Learning and K-12 Education Committee, echoed the importance of raising provider compensation. Given the state's financial reality, she said it should be "first and foremost" in the upcoming session.

"Without the subsidy rates, we aren't even going to have providers for families to care for their children," Wilson said.

Income limits would remain

Washington's subsidized child care program, Working Connections, allows families making less than a certain amount of money to qualify for lower-cost care for their kids from infancy to age 12.

In 2021, lawmakers increased income limits, raised provider pay and capped monthly copays for that program.

Right now, families earning up to 60% of the state's median income — nearly $73,000 for a family of four — can enroll their children in Working Connections.

The state is slated to raise the income limit to 75% of the state's median income — about $91,200 for a family of four — on July 1.

But Inslee has proposed delaying that expansion to save about $296 million over the next four years.

He has proposed raising the rates that the state pays Working Connections providers, which would cost roughly $1 billion over the same period.

In a statement after Inslee's proposal was released, Genevieve Stokes, director of government relations for Child Care Aware of Washington, said working parents and providers of child care "are forced to make unreasonable choices to make child care work with their careers and their bank accounts."

"Making it harder for parents to work, for providers to sustain their businesses, and for children to access high-quality early learning is only going to harm the state's economy and future revenues," Stokes said.

Inslee has proposed spending more money to promote Working Connections. The state estimates that just 17% of children whose families qualify for the program receive that care. The governor has proposed spending $4.8 million on outreach to make more people aware that Working Connections might be an option for them.

Free preschool expansions would pause

Washington's public preschool program, the Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program, is available to 3- to 5-year-olds from low-income families.

The free program provides classroom learning and extensive support to the parents and families of the child enrolled. Some children whose families make more than the state income limits can still qualify under specific exceptions, such as if they are experiencing homelessness.

Under the Fair Start for Kids Act, the program is slated to become an entitlement in July 2026, meaning children who qualify would be guaranteed a slot.

But Inslee has proposed pushing that back until the 2030-31 school year to save $437.6 million over the next four years.

Inslee has also proposed eliminating 845 unfilled part-day program slots for which the state has yet to find a contractor.

He has also proposed transitioning 250 part-time slots to school-day slots and adding another 500 for a total of 750 new school-day slots starting in mid-2026.

In a statement, Joel Ryan, the executive director of the Washington State Association of Head Start and ECEAP, said they were "saddened by the slowdown" in expanding the free preschool program but "appreciative" of Inslee's proposed spending.

Inslee has proposed increasing the rates paid to providers from $15,638 per child per year to $18,453. The Office of Financial Management says the governor's proposed rate increase will make the rate 90% of the cost of ECEAP services.

"These investments will serve our state's most vulnerable children and families by lowering staff turnover, opening more classrooms, and increasing wages for ECEAP teachers and staff," Ryan said.

Ryan also thanked Inslee for including an early version of the program targeted at infants through 3-year-olds in his plan. DCYF had proposed eliminating it as part of a cost-cutting exercise requested by the state's budget office in November.

Incoming Gov. Bob Ferguson will likely have his own budget proposals, a spokesperson said last week, but it is unclear when he will announce them.

He also has not immediately supported Inslee's plan to raise taxes to fill some of the budget gap. While not ruling out new taxes, Ferguson has said he wants to comb the budget for potential cuts first.

The lack of new revenue could result in more significant reductions in state spending than Inslee has proposed, as his spending plan is bolstered by new taxes on the wealthy and higher business taxes.

While legislators have broad discretion when writing the budget and passing policy, Ferguson will hold veto power as governor.

Wilson said Inslee's proposal is a good starting point.

"Clearly, if we had more money, early learning is where I always want to see it go first, because of the return on investment," Wilson said.

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