Day care centers have concerns, questions about changes proposed by DHS

Owners of local youth care centers said proposals by the Oklahoma Department of Human Services will force some centers out of business or make it impossible to keep staffing levels at capacity.

The owners of Scissortail Children’s School and Children of Joy Learning Academy are not alone in their concerns. Strong opposition to DHS’s proposed changes has already prompted the agency to suspend what its leaders said are budget-related changes that would have gone into effect Nov. 1, giving the public more time to offer comments.

Oklahoma DHS said in a statement that its changes are a reaction to fewer dollars being available because federal COVID-19 relief money is gone, meaning pandemic-level spending on day care activities no longer is sustainable “without a significant potential impact to other vital services that Oklahomans depend on every day.” Day care centers across Oklahoma have expressed concerns about what proposed changes would mean, including those that would change eligibility standards to retain star ratings and reimbursement rates for child care subsidies to parents.

Molly Alonzo, co-owner and director of Scissortail Children’s School and Germaine Graham, co-owner and executive director of Children of Joy Learning Academy, said the major changes being directed by DHS will have an adverse effect on day care centers, their staff and the families who rely on them, at a time when such facilities are more important than ever. While the obvious benefit is providing quality child care for working parents, both said their learning centers also are dealing with the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic that, because of isolation, left many children lagging behind in areas ranging from social skills to speech development.

Alonzo and Graham acknowledge the detrimental effect that changing the criteria for the star rating system will have on day care centers who could lose stars — and thus funding — for lesser violations, while fewer families will be able to afford day care because fewer will qualify for subsidies.

They also have a more immediate concern: the reimbursement DHS provides to help their employees with their educational costs. Alonzo said that education is important to create quality workers and that, in turn, is important in keeping their facilities running at full capacity. Both already stress on recruitment and retention; both also have waiting lists of families who need child care.

Alonzo said Scissortail has 279 families on its waiting list, even after the center created The Nest, a facility for infants, because they were out of room at the main center.

“We’re full,” she said, adding that is part of the reason qualified workers are crucial.

That’s why she — and other day care centers — say it is important to retain the reimbursement that DHS is providing to help staff members cover the cost of classes. Alonzo said it allows Scissortail to recruit and retain quality workers while meeting DHS day care mandates. Without the reimbursement, Alonzo is left with two alternatives: pay the cost herself, which increases her operating costs, or force workers to cover the entire costs, which lowers their salary.

Graham agreed.

“One hundred percent,” he said, adding his job as a business owner is to do the best job he can meeting DHS mandates the best way he can, and reimbursement for educational costs is an important benefit for recruitment.

Graham said one of his many problems with current DHS proposals is they apparently were made without consulting those who will be impacted the most. That makes him wonder what emphasis people outside the industry put on day care and early childhood learning.

“They don’t put a value on what we do,” he said, explaining the emphasis is on public school funding when facilities like the ones he and Alonzo operate are crucial to child development. “We start the foundation for learning.”

His proposed solution: legislators need to provide more incentives for day care and early childhood learning. Graham called it giving incentives “to what we do,” adding he, Alonzo and other operators must be able to budget, difficult when operating costs are increasing.

“It’s setting us back, not being able to establish a career for this industry. They see it as a job. It’s a calling,” Graham said, adding those in the profession have criteria and standards they must meet. “It takes a professional to adhere to those standards.

“It’s not appreciated enough, how far we go. We don’t just hire anybody. You can’t get just anybody to provide the best services. We have to be diligent in our approach.”

Alonzo and Graham said other changes proposed by DHS will change the criteria for receiving subsidies for child care, meaning fewer families will receive them.

“That will impact all centers in Oklahoma,” Alonzo said.

She and Graham also are critical of plans to take rating stars away from centers for lesser offenses, critical because state funding is based on those stars (the more you have, the higher the reimbursement).

Graham said the problem ties into an atmosphere where people are more interested in finding fault than engaging in dialogue to find solutions. He said while there are some repeat offenders who don’t follow the rules, there are more centers who may not meet a standard only once, yet they will face harsh penalties. That’s why he supports the idea of conversations and supporting centers to help ensure they meet all standards.

Graham said it isn’t necessarily bad centers; it’s people who simply need improvement.

“Closing centers is not beneficial,” he said.