Child Care Reform Legislation to Support Working Families Passes House

UPDATE: House Bill 6 passed the House on Tuesday and now moves to the Senate for consideration.

New legislation introduced in Frankfort seeks to strengthen Kentucky’s child care system to better support working families, local communities, and employers across the Commonwealth.

House Bill 6 and House Joint Resolution 50, sponsored by Representative Samara Heavrin, chair of the House Families and Children Committee, reflect the work of more than 40 stakeholders who spent 18 months studying Kentucky’s child care challenges and reaching consensus on practical solutions.

The Kentucky Collaborative on Child Care was founded by the Kentucky Chamber in June 2024 to bring together diverse perspectives, find common ground, and establish a forum for sustained collaboration on child care policy.

“Working families are essential to a strong economy, and without child care, parents can’t fully participate in the workforce—holding Kentucky back,” said Kentucky Chamber President and CEO Ashli Watts. “This effort helped shape a strong plan that will open opportunities for Kentuckians. The Kentucky Chamber is proud to have helped move this issue forward, and we look forward to working with Chair Heavrin and the General Assembly to advance this legislation during the 2026 session.”

According to research by the Kentucky Chamber Center for Policy and Research, a stronger child care system could help between 16,000 and 28,000 Kentucky parents start looking for work and join the workforce. This could generate up to $1.1 billion in new wages and state tax revenues throughout the Commonwealth.

“When more people are able to work, it creates better opportunities and stronger communities. Child care has continued to be a challenge for families, and until it’s no longer an issue, I’m committed to continuing this work,” said Rep. Heavrin in an interview with The Bottom Line.

The proposals filed this week aim to strengthen the following areas:

• Regulations: Implement a consensus-driven, safety-focused approach to streamlining child care regulations to make it easier to open and operate child care services while still prioritizing safety and quality.
• Quality: Reform the Kentucky All STARS program to emphasize outcomes, provide more effective incentives for child care providers, and streamline compliance processes.
• Innovation: Authorize child care micro-centers to support innovations and help address major gaps in child care services like third-shift and drop-in child care.
• Affordability: Reforms the Employee Child Care Assistance Partnership to make it easier for employers and child care providers to use, helping middle-class working families afford care.
• Child Care Workforce: Codifies the state’s nationally-renowned “child care assistance for child care workers” program.
• Children with Special Needs: Strengthens child care training requirements and support systems for children with special needs.
• Child Care Governance: Expands the Child Care Advisory Council to include more perspectives and expertise and help implement new child care initiatives.
• Support for Child Care Providers: Initiates a process to modernize how the state sets payment rates for providers serving children under the Child Care Assistance Program.
• Community Engagement: Strengthens the Certified Child Care Communities Program to promote local solutions to child care challenges and reduce barriers.
• Data: Implement and continually update a child care supply-and-demand analysis and improve how the state tracks and displays key child care datapoints.
• Financial Transparency: Establishes new reporting requirements for the Office of State Budget Director to ensure that public spending on child care is clear and transparent.

Since 2022, Kentucky has received national attention for its innovative policy solutions to child care. With measures such as the Employee Child Care Assistance Partnership and the “free child care for child care workers” program, national media outlets and research institutions have highlighted Kentucky’s approach to child care policy. These innovations have also inspired similar initiatives in other states and in the United States Congress. In the 2024 budget session, the General Assembly appropriated more than $60 million per fiscal year to strengthen the state’s Child Care Assistance Program, which allows low-income parents to find and maintain employment.

The Kentucky Chamber established the Kentucky Collaborative on Child Care to build on this momentum and continue partnering with state policymakers to strengthen the child care system and support working families across the state.

Learn more about the Kentucky Collaborative on Child Care here.