After the presentations, lawmakers acknowledged there was significant work to do on several facets of the workforce and childcare issues, as childcare is now costing Montanans, on average, about 28% of their median household income.
Montana’s Economic Affairs Interim Committee wants to take a deeper look over the next year into ways to boost wages for childcare workers and continue the work to find funding sources as federal pandemic programs that have helped keep childcare providers afloat over the past three years expire.