Dear CCLT Members and Partners,

Thanks so much to all of you for speaking out about the current child care crisis in MS. The entire child care sector in MS is reeling from the loss of 50% of children out of CCPP just since April of last year. The program served 36,000 children in April 2025 and that number has plummeted to 17,500.

Centers are having to make untenable decisions about terminating staff and closing classrooms due to being thrown into financial crisis by this, and parents who have lost or can’t get onto CCPP are having to quit work and face financial harm. This is the opposite of what employers say they need - more affordable child care so they can employ and retain workers. This harm is impacting everyone.

We have appealed to the Mississippi Department of Human Services to use more TANF funds for CCPP. MDHS Director Bob Anderson has announced the agency is exploring this strategy, but they have not yet adopted it and it is unclear if they will and what the timeline would be.

We have appealed to the Legislature for state funds for CCPP, but last week the House passed HB 1909 - the MDHS appropriations bill - without additional revenue for CCPP. Last year, the legislature appropriated $15 million in additional funds for CCPP. But at this moment, the state is not allocating additional state funds this year toward CCPP to mitigate the current crisis.   

What do we do now? 

Here’s how we plan to move forward, and we invite you to join us!

First, despite MDHS’s slow movement toward utilizing additional TANF funding, we are continuing to push for that. This does not require legislation, so it is important to keep pushing for this funding strategy beyond the legislative session. Advocating for MDHS to adopt this strategy will establish a mechanism for utilizing these funds for CCPP moving forward, thus setting an ongoing revenue stream to supplement CCPP.

Secondly, the House appropriations bill (HB 1909) now moves to the Senate. We need all calls to the key legislators below to urge the Senate to amend the MDHS appropriations bill to include additional state funds for CCPP. 

• MDHS Executive Director Bob Anderson has told Legislators in recent hearings that MDHS needs $60 million to fund CCPP at April 2025 levels. We are asking the legislature to appropriate $60 million for CCPP. This funding level may seem like a big ask, but it is not out of reach and more importantly, it is the amount MDHS says is needed to restore CCPP for thousands of working parents, children and employers. This funding level is what parents, children and employers across the state need.  
• During a December 9th, 2025, Senate Women, Children and Families Study Committee Hearing, MDHS Executive Director Bob Anderson testified: “We’re not asking in our budget request for the funding to get back to that 36,000 [children served by CCPP] level, because if we were, we estimate that would require about $60 million dollars at this stage in order to accommodate all those families on our waiting list.” 
• The lack of a request for what the program needs is an obstacle to stabilizing the child care industry statewide. Lawmakers need to hear from you that CCPP needs $60 million in additional funds.
• The deadline for the Senate to act on HB 1909 is March 17th. Calls should go to the Senate Appropriations chair between now and then to have an impact. If the Senate adopts an amendment to fund CCPP, then the bill will go back to the House. So, the House Appropriations Chair also needs to hear from us. 

Save the Date for Our Next Zoom Call

To discuss these matters further, and to discuss what CCPP funding bills are still alive, join us for a zoom call on Friday, February 27 at 1 p.m. Here’s the zoom link for the call: 

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81400271327

Meeting ID: 814 0027 1327

We will share information and answer questions, and we’d love to hear from you as well. Please plan to join us.

Key Legislators Who Need To Hear From You!

Call Senate Appropriations Chair: 

Senator Briggs Hopson

Phone: (601) 359-3250

Senator Dennis DeBar Jr. 

Phone: (601) 359-3221

Call House Appropriation Chairs: 

Rep. John Read 

Phone: (601) 359-3340

Home: (228) 497-9852

Rep. Angela Cockerham

Phone: (601) 359-3340

Rep. Clay Deweese 

Phone: (601) 359-3497

Business: (662) 281-1200

Cell: (662) 202-7093

Please encourage other child care providers and parents to call these key legislators. Tell them to commit $60 million in state funds to the CCPP program so more parents can be employed, so more children can be cared for in a safe environment and so more employers can retain their workforce. 

In service,

Carol Burnett

Executive Director