Capitol Update from State Representative Dustin Hite: January 17, 2019

Dustin Hite

by Dustin Hite

On Monday, we officially gaveled in to start session for 2019. It has been great to get my feet wet as a freshman Representative, and I’ve already had the opportunity to interact with some constituents on the Hill. I look forward to meeting with many more constituents as the year continues. My seat placement places me directly next to Representative Dave Maxwell, the veteran Representative for District 76, who just started his fourth term in the House. He represents constituents in Poweshiek county and Iowa county, and he has been an asset for me as I learn my way around the Statehouse.

It has been a full week, in which we had the opportunity to hear from Governor Reynolds, Chief Justice of the Iowa Supreme Court, Justice Cady, and General Orr of the Iowa National Guard about their respective branches of state government. Governor Reynolds and Chief Justice Cady both mentioned individuals from District 79 in their speeches.Governor Reynolds highlighted the heroic acts of Billy Fox of Pella, whose decisions as Vermeer Corporation’s head of security saved lives during the devastating tornado this past July. Chief Justice Cady also mentioned a member of the Vermeer Corporation and resident of Pella, CEO Jason Andringa, who he praised for maintaining a culture of constant improvement at Vermeer. Congratulations to both Billy, Jason and the entire Vermeer oragization for these honors.

Now it is time to start creating good policy for Iowa. Specifically, my colleagues and I will look to create policy that will help Iowan families. I am proud of the work House Republicans have done in the past, and I will look to help continue this trend. Last session, House Republicans provided a total annual increase of $7.7 million to child care providers in the Child Care Assistance Program. These higher rates to child care providers were effective January 1, 2019.

Iowa’s Child Care Assistance Program is administered by the Department of Human Services (DHS) and was established in 2000. This program subsidizes child care costs (children under the age of 13) for low-income families with working parents, parents gaining work skills, parents going to school, and parents unable to care for children for a limited time due to physical or mental illness. Iowa ranks No. 1 (tied with MN & NE at 75%) of states with children under age 6 who have all available parents in the labor force, making child care a necessity and is becoming a larger and larger part of the family budget.

In FY 2018, a total of 40,858 children were served by the CCA Program. The average number of children participating in the Program per month was 24,208, an increase of 6.7% over FY 2017. The average child is under age five, has one sibling, and lives in a one-parent family with the family income below 100% of the FPL.

In FY 2018, there were 1,526 licensed child care centers, 2,708 registered child care development homes (in-home providers caring for six or more children) and 289 legally operating, nonregistered providers (caring for five or fewer children) that accept payment from the CCA program.

Iowa has prioritized not having a waiting list for parents to receive assistance, allowing parents to work as soon as a job is available, rather than having to turn down the job because they are unable to afford child care. 20 states have waiting lists before a parent is able to access any assistance with child care costs.

This program includes a Quality Rating System (QRS), which identifies and promotes quality in child care services. The QRS is voluntary for providers and comes with technical assistance as providers take steps to improve care. Participating providers may also receive bonus pay as their ratings increase or are maintained. In addition to paying for child care, State and federal funds support the regulation of child care providers and quality improvement activities of providers.

While it has been a busy week at the Capitol, we have only just begun the people’s work. I look forward to the upcoming session were we will tackle the issues which are important to Iowans—from education, to taxes, to mental health. Please join me for my first Eggs and Issues session on January 26, 2019, at 8:30 a.m. at Smokey Row in Oskaloosa. I would also like to invite you to come see me at the Capitol this upcoming session.