The Office of the Governor of the State of Wisconsin

07/23/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 07/23/2025 10:20

Gov. Evers Launches $110 Million in Direct Child Care Provider Payments, Avoiding Gap in Critical Assistance

Press Release: Gov. Evers Launches $110 Million in Direct Child Care Provider Payments, Avoiding Gap in Critical Assistance

State of Wisconsin sent this bulletin at 07/23/2025 09:15 AM CDT
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 23, 2025
Contact: [email protected]
Gov. Evers Launches $110 Million in Direct Child Care Provider Payments, Avoiding Gap in Critical Assistance
Governor delivers on promise to secure direct payments to child careproviders through bipartisan, pro-kid budget investments
MADISON- Gov. Tony Evers today launched the Child Care Bridge Payment Program, which will provide $110 millionin monthly direct payments to Wisconsin child careproviders throughJune 2026. This investment was made possible as part of a more than $360 million investment that Gov. Evers fought for and secured in the bipartisan, pro-kid biennial budget, signedinto law earlier this month, tohelpstabilize Wisconsin's child careindustry and lower the cost of child carefor working families. The quick work of the Evers Administration and the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families ensures there will not be any gaps in direct funding for child careproviders caused by the winding down of the Child Care Counts Program.

In the months leading up to the final 2025-27Biennial Budget, Republican legislative leaders indicatedthey had no intention of makingany direct investments in child careproviders statewide. Gov. Evers, who has been working to support child careproviders and lower the cost of child care statewidefor years,signaled that a budget without direct payments to child careproviders was a non-starterand would force the governor to veto the budget if Republicans failed toinclude these critical funds. After months of negotiationswith Republican leaders, Gov. Evers ultimately secureda $110 million investment for direct payments to child care providers inthe 2025-27 Biennial Budget, delivering on his promise to ensure providers can continue to receivedirect monthly payments to help pay their staff, keep their doors open and lights on, and continue providing high-quality care for Wisconsin's kids and families.The final, bipartisan state budget enacted by Gov. Evers included more than $360 million to support Wisconsin's child careindustryand help lower child carecosts for working families, a third of which is in direct payments to providers. A comprehensive list of budget investments and a summary of the governor's partial vetoes is available here.

"I declared 2025 the Year of the Kid in Wisconsin, and ensuring this budget made real, meaningful investments directly in child careproviders statewide was a nonnegotiable for me," said Gov. Evers. "I'mproud our final budget makes this critical investment tocontinue our work to provide direct support to our state's child careprofessionalswho go above and beyondto ensure our kids have the high-quality care they need and deserve.Iwant to thank the folks at DCF for their hard work to get this program up and running to avoid any gaps in payments and ensure providers continue to receive this critical support without delay, and I look forward to continuing our work together tosupport child care providers statewide, to lower child care costs for working families, and to do what's best for our kids."

The Child Care Bridge Payments Program, provided through the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families,is similar to the wildly successful Child Care Counts Program, which waslaunched by Gov. Evers and the Evers Administration in 2020 and thathelped more than 5,700 child care providers keep their doors open, ensuring the employment of more than 75,000 child care professionals and allowing providers to continue care for more than 430,000 kids. The Child Care Bridge Payments Program will provide the financial stability providers need to stay open, to recruit and retainqualified staff, and to continue providing high-quality care for Wisconsin's kids.

The initialapplication window will open July 26, 2025, and close August3, 2025, with additionalopportunities to apply each month through June 2026. Direct payments will begin in mid-August. Wisconsin child careproviders can find more information on how to apply on DCF's public website.

 "An investment in child careproviders is a strategic investment in working families, our children, our workforce, and the economic vitality of our communities," said DCF Secretary Jeff Pertl. "I am deeply grateful for Gov. Evers' courage and commitment to doing what'sbest for our kids and making child carean essential part of this budget. These payments will help ensure providers remain open so that young Wisconsin families are able to balance having a family while working and supporting our economy."

Gov. Evers declared 2025 the Year of the Kid in Wisconsin and has made investing in the state's child careindustry to help fill available child careslots, cut child carewait lists, and lower the cost of care for working familiesa top priority of his administrationand of this budget. In addition to the $110 million in direct payments to child care providers, the more than $360 million investment in child care included in the final 2025-27 Biennial Budget signed by Gov. Evers includes:
  • $66 million to fund a new "Get Kids Ready" initiative, the first-everentirely state fundedchild care program in Wisconsin state history, which will support child care providers serving four-year-olds to help prepare Wisconsin's kids for kindergarten and get an earlier jump start on learning at a critical time in development;
    • The new first-of-its-kind program in Wisconsin is also designed to help ensure the state's child care industry will receive sustainable, ongoing state investments into the future after Child Care Counts ends.
    • Kids in the program will be taught by child care providers using a curriculum that meets the Wisconsin model early learning standards.
  • $2 million designed to help child care providers across the state build capacity to be able to cut childcare wait lists and ensure more kids and families have access to affordable child care;
    • The grant will expand access to high-quality child carein the state, including launching an online software platform that is linked to the department's website to connect child careproviders with child careworkers.
  • $2 million intended to help bolster Wisconsin's Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies, which help parents find child care locally and provide training and technical assistance opportunities to child care providers;
  • Over $123 million to increase rates under the Wisconsin Shares Child Care Subsidy Program to help lower out-of-pocket child care costs for working families across the state; and
    • The investment will raise rates for the Wisconsin Shares program to ensure Wisconsin meets its statutory obligation, designed to ensure families can access 75 percent of child care slots within a given geographical area and lower the cost of child care for parents.
  • $28.5 million for a pilot program to help support expanding capacity across Wisconsin's child careindustry to ensure more families with infants and toddlers can access quality, affordable child care.
    • The proposal will increase payments to providers caring for infants and toddlers across the state through the Wisconsin Shares program.
    • Under the plan, providers would receive payments of $200 per month for every infant under 18 months and $100 per month for every toddler between 18 months and 30 months.
    • The investment will also help ensure more families and kids have access to affordable child care by helping providers accommodate more infants and toddlers under a new temporary pilot program aimed at aligning Wisconsin with peer states like Minnesota, enabling providers to care for seven toddlers between 18 and 30 months of age per staff member.
An online version of this release is available here.
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Office of the Governor • 115 East Capitol, Madison, WI 53702
Press Office Email: [email protected]
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The Office of the Governor of the State of Wisconsin published this content on July 23, 2025, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on July 23, 2025 at 16:20 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]