Des Moines, Iowa — Republican legislators have approved a bill that would let Iowa child care providers ask parents who get state money to cover child care fees to add onto that with their own money.
Under the bill, parents in Iowa’s child care assistance program could agree to pay the difference between the state subsidy and what would typically be charged to parents who do not get government assistance for child care. Senator Mark Lofgren, a Republican from Muscatine, says the bill is a recommendation from the governor’s child care task force.
Democrats like Senator Sarah Trone Garriott of Windsor Heights say it makes no sense, since Iowa parents who qualify for child care assistance live at or near the poverty level.
Senator Janet Petersen, a Democrat from Des Moines, says the state needs to increase child care assistance for working families instead.
Senator Carrie Koelker, a Republican from Dyersville, says taxpayers cannot fill all the holes in the child care system.
House Republicans passed the bill in early March and it cleared the Senate Monday with the support of all Republicans present.
