CCDF Must Be Fully Funded! Stories from Local Early Care and Education Providers...
CCDF Must Be Fully Funded! Stories from Local Early Care and Education Providers...
These are stories from families and directors of Indiana Early Care and Education Providers, sharing their concerns about the current state of CCDF funding. Most are anonymous to not identify specific families or programs.
Morgan County (9/11/2025):
"As a single mother of three, the recent cuts to CCDF funding have placed an enormous strain on my family. Child care assistance is what allows me to work and provide for my children, and without this support I am forced to make impossible choices about our future.
This funding doesn’t just help my family—it supports countless others in our community who rely on safe, reliable child care to stay employed and give their children a strong start. When this resource is cut, families struggle, children miss out, and our whole community is affected.
I ask that you please protect and strengthen CCDF funding so families like mine can keep moving forward." - Ashley L.
Marion County (9/11/2025):
"I have worked for a few agencies that license and support foster parents for the better part of the last decade and I have never seen the situation with CCDF so bad. It wasn’t great to begin with, but these cuts are devastating because it makes it harder to find homes willing to take in kids under 5; they simply can’t afford the cost of care without vouchers- and we have no idea/if when they can get them (even though they qualify). I myself utilized CCDF vouchers as a young, single mom in college and never would have graduated without them so the continued, dangerous downsizing makes me so sad."
Lake County (9/10/2025):
"I am a child care teacher i absolutely love these kids and the parents of these children as well. They trust us to keep their children safe and cared for while they're working just to get by. If we don't have funding we don't have kids and if we don't have kids we have no staff meaning no work hours. I do not agree with the reduction that is happening. I love children so childcare is what I got into and have been in child care for 5 years. They count on us everyday/every hour that they spend with us. They love us just as much as we love them. This doesn't just affect the work environment/business it's the supplies we need for the kids, to keep them learning and engaged, as well as providing food to keep them fed and healthy. The relationship between us and the kids are what keeps them going. They are our future, the change we need in this world. but it also affects these low income families who can't afford it so they depend on these vouchers to provide a safe and healthy child care for these children. Everything is already so increased in America right now it's insane to bring something like this in now. The way this is going, it going to cause decrease in enrollment. these parents will have to look for cheaper care or quit their jobs to stay home with their kids. How will they be able to provide? It is going to affect staff and their families and the families of these children and these children's education/Future."
Rush County (9/10/2025):
"Westminster Early Learning Academy Rushville opened on August 4th. We arr new high-quality registered ministry in our county. We have had many interest in attending but without vouchers they cannot afford it. Since we have not had hardly any facility that accepted vouchers in our county before the family are just now applying and have no end in sight as far as when they will be approved if ever. We want to be able to provide quality care and help as many families as we have space for but unfortunately families are having to resort to attend the numerous unlicenced unregistered in home daycares operating in our county despite having expressed to us that they would prefer to switch to a facility like ours that offers high-quality education, safety, and security." - Matia Miles
Additional Data: We currently have an infant and toddler at only half capacity and 2 toddler closed classrooms despite having people able to staff those rooms and people who we surveyed that wanted to enroll but could not afford it. The majority of our open seats are infants and toddlers as new vouchers have not been approved in a VERY long time.
Lake County (9/10/2025):
"I am a family child care provider. I absolutely love my job. I love these kids and their families. This decrease in funding is going to jeopardize everything. I will have to close my doors. I care for low-income families who rely on their ccdf voucher. They are unable to pay any type of overage. Not only will I and my staff be out of a job, my families will be too. They will need to relinquish their vouchers. Which I personally feel was the goal of this decrease. These children think of us as their second home, they spend more time with us then their families. These kids are going to be crushed. I'm very glad the decision was made to "chose the kids" though. Myself and staff will be looking for alternate employment. We will turn our backs to the field that so easily disregarded us."
Additional Data: We are already struggling with losing children to the free PreK and headstart offered at the local schools. We will be forced to charge the decrease amount. If the parents cannot pay, they will have to find alternate care. If we are unable to fill spots immediately, we will be forced to close our doors.
West-Central Indiana (9/10/2025):
"I saw an article stating that they had to decide between choosing providers or children and that they chose the children. That may seem great. But, that isn't how it works. Families will now have to pay higher overages because the vouchers are worth less. So, really, no one was chosen. Saving money in a budget was chosen. Our child care program will likely close by the end of the year. Enrollment is below 50% and we just can't stay open if more families don't enroll. The problem is that families can't afford the weekly fees so they stay home and choose not to enter the workforce. Or, they send their children to someone offering cheap care who likely isn't regulated and may not be offering safe care. It's a really bad situation all around. As a provider I feel forgotten, dismissed, unimportant, and left out. I got in to this field to serve children and families and lately all my energy goes to trying to figure out how to do MORE with LESS and less and less. I'm tired and I'm sad. I want change but don't know where to start or how to advocate. I see early childhood professionals leaving the profession... many not by choice - but the overwhelming sentiment I'm hearing from them is that even though they aren't leaving by choice, and that they love serving children and families - they are looking at other industries for work because of how awful this current situation is and how shaky the ground has become. I just can't fathom pushing so many dedicated and educated individuals out of the early childhood field when we've been saying for years we need more IN the field. I don't know what the answer is, but THIS isn't it."
Additional Data: We had to increase tuition a few months ago - we lost 12 families due to that change. Enrollment in our program is below 50% - the lowest it has ever been.
Delaware County (9/9/2025):
"These cuts and waitlists are not only effecting my child and my home. These are effecting my workplace and mental health. Because of these cuts we have had to cut teachers and having only two educators to every room because we don’t have the funding to keep three to a room is rough on us educators. I have heard many educators wanting different less stressful jobs. I love working with kids but the mental load of no staff affected by these cuts is just not worth it."
Morgan County (9/8/2025):
"The recent reductions to Indiana’s Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) will have a direct and painful impact on GGLC, our families, and our community. For many of our families, CCDF vouchers are the bridge that makes high-quality care possible. With funding already reduced and eligibility tightened, GGLC has openings for the first time in three years. With these new funding cuts, families that currently receive CCDF absolutely cannot afford to cover the almost 50% reduction in our reimbursement rate from the state. For some families, this would mean weekly payments between $100 to $300. This will force parents into impossible choices between working, continuing their education, or staying home without reliable child care.
For GGLC, fewer families qualifying for assistance means reduced enrollment and unstable revenue. Like many child care programs, we operate on very tight margins. Cuts to CCDF not only risk fewer children in our classrooms but also jeopardize our ability to retain and fairly compensate staff, the very people who provide the safe, nurturing environments children need. Over the last few years, we have worked diligently to support staff as they continue their education, doing our part in rebuilding our workforce for quality, educated teachers. We have barely recovered from the funding cuts to On My Way PreK, which earlier cost our center almost $3,000 per week in revenue. These latest funding cuts will result in an additional $2,214 per week loss of income. That means in the last 90 days, I have had to cut over $250,000 from our yearly budget. That means a reduction in staff, services and learning materials. This is not cuts that my families, CCDF and private pay, can afford to cover.
Ultimately, these cuts weaken the foundation we’ve been building together since Covid. Child care is not just a service for families—it’s the backbone of a strong workforce and a thriving community. When families cannot access care, employers lose workers, children lose learning opportunities, and communities lose stability. Childcare is too big to fail." - Jen Palmer
Grant County (9/8/2025):
"As a licensed childcare provider for 20 plus years here in Grant County, I have never seen childcare so bad! In 2024 we went to paid by enrollment, which turned into, NOT paid by enrollment. In the spring of 2025 we were suppose to receive our enrollment fee's that have yet to be paid. I had 9 families recert and all of them but 3, now have co-pays, dropping 1 family whom always received full time vouchers to only now receiving $1 a week? Ive lost 3 families due to this! Now their changing, with no notice mind you, the reimbursement rates with reducing school agers by more than 50%! We were told they had to choose between the providers or the children! This has to be one of the dumbest things I've ever heard! They evidentially have no idea what this is going to cause for these family's and especially our kiddos. Where are these kiddos going to go when numerous daycares have to shut their doors? There is no way we can operate on $58 a week for school aged children. Many of us having several school aged children and our funds being taken away by over 50% on leas than a month! How am I suppose to ask a single mama of 3 school aged children with full pay vouchers to now pay $210 a week? These parents are going to have to make choices of quitting their jobs or their babies staying home alone being responsible for getting them selves up, ready and to school, then home alone after school! Our county is already in a crisis for childcare and providers! This is the most ridiculous bunch of crap I have ever heard! Yet, we have a local center whom only charges $135 a week and ccdf is paying them much more over their rate! Something has got to happen or we are going to have a lot of children in trouble and no where to go! Someone better sit down and realize what their doing and get this fixed! Indiana is about to see 100's of centers, ministry's, licensed homes closing because we can not operate with what their doing! Their breaking our contracts without notice and that should not be allowed! Their doing what their doing and not thinking about anyone but themselves! If these new rates take effect, my home childcare will be gone by the end of the year along with many others! Come on Indiana, you better wake up!!! These kiddos and familys need help! Stop taking from them! We have enough jobless and turning to drugs and your not helping the situation when we have 1000s doing their best and now your taking more from them!!! Not one time has this new director visited a daycare to speak to them, or to try and listen to these parents begging not to take more away! They dont care, they just do what they want t no matter who it hurts, INCLUDING THESE KIDDOS THAT THEY CHOSE FIRST! I will be forced to make several familiys pay an amount theres no way they can afford of these new rates take effect!!! Wake up!!!!" -- Brandy King
Delaware County (9/8/2025):
"As a provider of childcare to low-income families, our program will be deeply effected by the cuts, making it harder and harder to continue to serve our families with the high quality early childhood education they deserve. Low to moderate income families can not afford the cost of high quality care and with no new vouchers on the horizon, our program enrollment is dropping steadily, forcing us to reduce our wonderful staff and close classrooms."
Grant County (9/7/2025):
"I live in an area that is 80% on food stamps. We are a low income area that most parents who live here don't send their kids to pre-k or daycare without the CCDF grants. Having a child in daycare will help get a child ready for a classroom setting. Putting a child into pre-k allows a child to get early detection for speech or special services. We are doing a disservice to our kids about their education."
Marion County (9/5/2025):
"We will be forced to increase tuition and unfortunately, a lot of our families are already struggling so this is going to be hard on a lot of families."
Grant County (9/5/2025):
"We are a foster family and rely on the ccdf voucher program to be able to take in the kids we have taken in. With the cuts in the system it may mean we aren’t able to foster as much any more if at all. The cost of childcare is a huge burden for all working parents."
Indianapolis Area (9/4/25):
In response to the OECOSL email on 9/4/25 which stated that the state had to choose to support children over providers and cut reimbursement rates to serve more families.
"We choose the kids every single day."
"My back hurts from carrying the economy. I'm done."
"They are choosing billionaires over babies."
Fayette County (9/4/2025):
"Both of my boys attend a wonderful licensed in home daycare. This daycare has been an absolute lifesaver for me. Not only do they take the utmost care of my children and treat them like their own, but they are teaching my boys skills and knowledge that I unfortunately as a parent don't always have the time to do myself. They are learning to speak, to have independence, team work, group play, hand eye coordination, potty training, communication, socialization, on top of knowledge like nursery rhymes, letters numbers, colors, shapes, animals, emotions, anatomy, and so much more. I have watched my children grow so much in every aspect of their life since attending here. However, now with vouchers being cut, I am being forced to pay more when I am already struggling to pay for the necessities my family needs at home. This increase in my out of pocket tuition will make me struggle and make me have to provide less for my kids at home just so they can continue to get the growth that they so desperately need at their critical ages. I cannot afford to stop working to keep my kids home to save on childcare. Doing this will cause us to become homeless or have to move back in with relatives who really don't have the room to house us. However, I do not make enough financially to keep paying for these increases due to unnecessary cuts made by the state. These cuts are supposedly for the benefit of the children, but it is actually to the DETRIMENT of the children. You are forcing children to be withdrawn from amazing programs because parents can no longer afford the tuition. You are forcing families to decide between childcare tuition or much needed clothes/shoes for the kids. You are forcing families to quit jobs in order to stay home with the kids due to being unable to pay the tuition and in turn forcing families to struggle to pay their bills, buy food, buy household necessities like toilet paper, toothpaste, soap and more because their income has decreased by 50% or more."
Rush County (9/4/2025):
"When my girls were younger I kept them home because it was cheaper for me to do so then to put them in a daycare setting or a preschool setting. The funding wasn't there to help. And now that I'm a teacher I'm still seeing the effects of it not being there for my grandchildren. It puts a hurt on us teachers because we can now barely afford to feed our family because the government wants to take funding away from our families. This is an important program for our future children."
Southern Indiana (9/4/2025):
"I am a Kinship/Relative placement of a little girl that is 7 months old. Due to ccdf changes in December, foster care is no longer a priority in Indiana for CCDF and I made $20 more than the minimum salary last year. I’m paying $800 a month on childcare because I can’t qualify based on income, but I also can’t qualify because there is too long of a waitlist for foster care vouchers as well. I took in a relatives child and was told I would get assistance and help, just to find out they cut vouchers and I make $20 over the minimum."
Bartholomew County:
"There have been so many changes that have impacted my Family Home Childcare that the news of voucher waitlist was a hard hit to take. Currently, my program has 2 siblings utilizing vouchers. Their homelife is unstable to say the least, and they were actually recently taken into custody by CPS and released to an Aunt. All of this was sudden and unplanned for, so Aunt is concerned about their short term future and their care. With the voucher rules as they are, there is now no precedence for children in this situation so if they lose their vouchers then they will no longer be able to attend and have no option for care. The severity of this is very real in our lives and in theirs. My school has been their only stability for months. They are fed here, taken care of, and loved. The funding being pulled is heartbreaking for so many reasons. I personally know the children's stability, educational growth, and school family will be lost without this funding.
Secondly to this situation, my business, which is a licensed, PTQ Level 4, Nationally Accredited Family Home Childcare is struggling to stay afloat. I have had 4 people reach out for care within the past 8 weeks that also want to know about vouchers as they cannot afford childcare but appreciate the quality of care I provide. I have to route them to the CCDF waitlist and cross them off my waiting list, and hope for families who can afford to pay out of pocket to fill the gaps. I currently am facing so many vacancies in the fall semester that I either will be forced to take a pay cut or close my doors. As much as my heart knows how much children need care, I also must make a living and cannot in this climate. I know my true cost of care and am charging well under that as it is. Without vouchers, low income families cannot come through my doors and they desperately need to. It is baffling to me that this funding is not being supported when time after time it is proven that the ROI in early childhood education astronomically outweighs the funding that was recently cut."
Grant County:
"CCDF gave me the opportunity to go back to work and further my schooling. I currently work as an EA but am working towards my teaching certification. Without CCDF, I would have nowhere for my son to go so I can work and keep the bills paid. With the vouchers my son and I are able to do better in life. Please think before cutting the budget and how it will affect parents everywhere."
" Several families at our preschool are on the verge of losing their vouchers, and without them, they are unable to afford childcare. As a result, they are considering un-enrolling their children from the program due to the inability to pay privately. Some of these children have significant health issues that prevent them from attending school regularly, which has contributed to their high number of absences. If a family loses their CCDF vouchers, they risk losing their jobs due to lack of childcare options."
"CCDF gives many families the opportunity to send their child to school and give them the best care and education they deserve. If cutting the budget happens many of the families will not have the care for their children as the cost for childcare is high."
" One of our families who had been on CCDF vouchers for several years recently lost their vouchers, due to the fact that mom did not submit her change of address before her renewal date. She is a single, working mom with 4 children under the age of 9. She now has no child care for her 4 and 5 year old children, and had to switch to working 3rd shift to continue to be able to support her family. Our center was a safe place for her 2 youngest daughters, and we are concerned about their well being, as there have been previous cases of abuse and neglect in this family."
"We also have 2 new families who we enrolled at our center last week who are currently receiving CCDF vouchers. They were both worried that they would lose their CCDF vouchers if we didn’t enroll them as quickly as possible. One family has 4 children under the age of 4, 2 who receive services through 1st steps, and an additional one is receiving mental health services due to trauma. The mom pulled her children out of their previous child care, due to unsafe treatment of her children. Luckily we were able to enroll her 4 children, so that she didn’t lose her vouchers. The other family that we enrolled last week on CCDF vouchers is a single mom of 5. She was in need of urgent care for her 2 youngest daughters, due to traumatic family events. Luckily we also were able to place her children in time for her to not lose her CCDF vouchers."
"Finally, we enrolled a brand new foster family last week. They took in 2 boys at 10pm on Thursday night, 3 and 4. Luckily we were able to place them in our center the following Monday, so that the parents could continue to go to work. This family is on the CCDF waitlist for at least 3 months, due to the new rules CCDF has enforced. Their weekly tuition for these 2 foster boys, even with the 10% sibling discount, is $564 dollars per week. That adds up to $2,256 dollars per month. This is a huge burden to this family who has taken in these boys who were in desperate need of a safe place to live, and the parents are both working 5 days a week full time."
Allen Co.
“We have a fantastic teacher who is a single mom of four, one of which is an infant in our care. She currently does not have a network of support. She receives a 40% discount for being an employee. Her weekly fee for care is $280. As a family of five on a single childcare teacher wage, she cannot afford care. She is currently sitting on the waitlist. A waitlist in which she is prioritized as an early education educator, but it is not helping her. If I withdraw her child, I also lose a high-quality teacher. If her child stays, we are paying wages and donating care. It is costing our organization twice, requiring funding we do not have. The cost of recruiting and hiring a new teacher also comes with significant expense. As a leader of the organization, I am left considering which causes us less financial impact when I know the real concern is the quality of life for this family as well as the quality of education and care for the children she supports at Early Childhood Alliance every day.”
"We have lost a few families because they were not able to renew their vouchers in time and now they were placed on the waitlist. They couldn’t afford the childcare and withdrew their child. It was not easy seeing these families suffer like that. Families that are already approved should have an easy way for approval
"How has the CCDF program impacted our family? We have no close family so Bridges of Graces staff has literally become my kids' second moms/aunts, all of the teachers have a special place in mine and my kids' hearts. My kids don't even want to leave their school due to having to leave the teachers. If I walk in and see my daughter crying, it's because one of the teachers is holding another child and not her. Because she wants all of their love and feels safe with them. My son was taught to walk by these amazing women. He gets all the love and cuddles he could possibly want there. I know my children are safe and cared for in their care. When he broke his arm, his teacher reached out to me by phone for updates, because she loves him and cares about him. When I drop him off in the morning, he lays his head on her chest because he trusts her."
"My meaning of high-quality childcare is exactly what has been proved for me with the CCDF vouchers. I know these women care for my children as if they were their babies. I know I'll come to pick up my children after a long day of work with them being absolutely loved, safe and treasured as I would treasure them."
"If I didn't have CCDF I would not be able to afford childcare in my city. It wouldn't be possible for me to work full time and have them in any daycare in Fort Wayne. I have 2 children in the infant and toddler classes it would cost me more than my paycheck to send them to school every month. Without Bridge of Grace Early Years Academy my children would only have me and not have these amazing teachers sitting with them every day and helping them work out their emotions, learning life lessons, making friends and building relationships."
"Our biggest story of a family impacted by CCDF is our family who has 3 children enrolled, age 3 and under. She has a 2 month old that she would like to start but she is on the wait list. Her job is being patient with her, but long term she may lose her job if she cannot get her child enrolled."
Jay Co.
"Our center opened in Jay County in December of 2024. We have three families that have been on the list for CCDF since then. We have turned away at least 5 families that say they are on the list that have not been approved. We are unable to offer care to them until they have been approved. There is a need here in Jay county without the funding we have families suffering. We have two families enrolled now waiting to be approved. They have a balance of over $1000.00 that increases every week. One is a single mother making $15.00 an hour with three children. She has maxed out two credit cards to keep her children here. The reason for this is that her children's education comes first. Two of her children get special services which we have set up through Jay County Schools. We also have a behavior specialist set in place to work with one child. If she has to leave our program she loses these services because she does not live in the Jay County school system. She only works in this county in Jay county. CCDF funding is crucial to families in the state of Indiana."
Wabash Co.
"There is an employee that was unable to receive CCDF funding due to the waitlist and has on multiple occasions had to choose between paying a bill/buying groceries and paying child care."
"There are multiple families that are unable to enroll due to being on the waitlist. For one family it has impacted her ability to work, she had to quit her job to stay home and take care of her child."
Noble Co.
"I have a parent who called for a toddler spot. She recently moved into a rehab and domestic abuse halfway house. We had a mom who brought 3 of her children here last month and the mom referred the toddler mom to our facility - so that they could share transportation - and help each other out. The mom of the 3 children already had vouchers in FW and the toddler mom just moved recently for similar reasons. When I explained the fees to the toddler mom - she was very worried she could not pay our lowest rate (which is $215/week) because she works at Dairy Queen. She has to "work" to be able to be at the halfway house, but she also needs to afford care. Luckily the other mom who his already here is going to help her out with the transportation, so she can pick up the extra hours to make tuition work - at least until "if" she can get vouchers - which she is still going to apply for. It breaks my heart to see this kind of situation happen. Here is mom who is trying to better her situation - due to difficult life circumstances - but can't count on the subsidy to help her family move forward, yet this other mom who is also struggling and making things work - is willing to step in and help her out - which is amazing."