Blog: The Status of Florida's Child Care System

What's the policy issue?

Childcare access provokes two significant public policy questions:

(1) To what extent, if at all, should childcare issues be subsidized to ensure parents are able to participate in the workforce?

(2) Should subsidized child care serve solely as a means to supervise a young child or also provide educational opportunities, requiring higher-wage, college-educated teachers?

Florida is the third most populous and one the fastest growing states in the nation,[1] and its childcare system must keep pace. In July 2022, Florida TaxWatch published, "How Childcare Impacts the State's Economy and Shapes Florida's Workforce," estimating that turnover resulting from unreliable childcare options can collectively cost $8.2 billion in lost earnings for Florida families, $1.7 billion in turnover expenses for businesses, and $743.3 million in tax revenues, annually.[2] Moreover, economic development is a continuum that starts in early learning centers, travels from pre-kindergarten through 12^th grade onto postsecondary vocational training education as well as colleges and universities and, ultimately, to the workforce needs of our state.

Childcare access intersects with other policy issues. In the commentary "Social Determinants of Health: Education Access and Quality," Florida TaxWatch documented the connection of early education to better adult health outcomes. The availability of federal and state funds for investments in the childcare system rely, in no small part, on achieving an accurate and complete census count, as detailed in the Florida TaxWatch commentary "Advancing Florida's Children Issues Begins with a Complete Census Count."[3]

If we fail to provide adequate, high quality, education-based childcare options for our children, we not only harm the prospects of today but also endanger the long-term growth and vitality of the state economy. In this blog, Florida TaxWatch reviews the current capacity and funding mechanisms for Florida's child care system, with a focus on early learning options, to help stakeholders and policymakers pursue the well-informed policy changes needed to make childcare options more accessible for working parents, which, in turn, supports the productivity of the economy and long-term self-sufficiency of Florida families.

How many young children are in Florida?

In 2025, Florida is projected to have 1.2 million young children under the age of 5.[4] Over the next ten years, Florida's population of young children is projected to increase by eight percent, amounting to 1.3 million in 2035.[5] While early learning opportunities can benefit the educational outcomes of all children, they are also relied upon as childcare for families with all available parents in the workforce. About 715,000 children in Florida have all available parents in the workforce.[6] All available parents include children living with two parents who both participate in the workforce and children living with a single parent who participates in the workforce.

How many Voluntary Prekindergarten Programs (VPK) are in Florida?

Although general childcare options can help parents maintain their work status, the availability of VPK is particularly important in preparing young children for the school system. Reviewing licensing data from the Florida Department of Children and Families, Florida has nearly 6,000 licensed facilities offering VPK. These facilities offer a statewide capacity of about 660,000 slots; however, this number is inflated. Some of the facilities are elementary schools with recorded capacities that include the full student body. If elementary schools are removed from the data, there are about 5,000 facilities that provide 596,000 VPK slots to children. Comparing VPK slots with the number of children with all available parents in the workforce, there is a gap ranging from 55,000 to 119,000 slots. This gap does not consider families who prefer or require alternative arrangements (i.e., grandparents serving as caretakers) or families with parents out of the workforce who prefer or require to enroll their students in VPK.[7]

How do the state and federal governments support the accessibility of early learning and child care options?

The federal government allocates dollars to each state to subsidize the cost of early learning and child care options through the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) program. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government committed an unprecedented level of funding to the CCDBG program. In 2021, Florida received an extra $3.1 billion in CCDBG funds from the American Rescue Plan; Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act; and redistributed matching funds. The years to follow also experienced a boost in funding; up until the second quarter of 2024, matching funds for the CCDBG program were allocated with an increasing federal matching dollar ratio.

Florida uses CCDBG funds to support its School Readiness program, which offers financial assistance to eligible low-income families to apply for early learning and child care programs. The high level of federal investment boosted funding for the School Readiness program from $761 million in 2019 to $1.2 billion in 2024. Additionally, Florida consistently allocates more than $400 million from General Revenue to support its VPK programs.

How do Florida's early learning options compare to other states?

Each year, the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) conducts a comprehensive evaluation of VPK programs in each state, considering funding, access, and quality. Compared to other states, Florida ranked 42^nd in state spending on VPK. Florida's VPK policies satisfy four of the ten quality standards recommended by NIEER. Florida is one of eight states that met fewer than half the standards. Most of Florida's missing standards related to staffing requirements, including requirements for appropriate educational credentials, specializing trainings, professional development, and 1:10 staff-child ratios.[8]

Looking ahead---

In recent years, the state of Florida has passed legislation to further support its childcare system, perhaps most significantly with the return of the employer childcare tax credit,[9] but the state is on the brink of new challenges. The last of the obligated CCDBG funds from 2021 expired and the federal matching funds have returned to normal levels, reverting total CCDBG funds to smaller amounts. Florida policymakers should be mindful how this change in funding effects the childcare industry and continue to develop policies that can provide more sustainable funding to meet the growing needs of childcare as the number of young children in Florida continues to increase over the next decade. Our workforce and upcoming generation of Floridians rightly demand this focus and commitment.