Gov. Evers makes stop at YMCA to highlight first round of child care funding payments

Gov. Tony Evers recently completed a statewide child care tour highlighting the first round of child care bridge payments to more than 3,000 providers statewide.

One of those recipients was the YMCA Youth Development Center in Rhinelander, where Evers made a stop on Aug. 20.

During the visit, Gov. Evers and Department of Children and Families (DCF) Secretary Jeff Pertyl took a tour of the facility where they spoke with teachers and administrators, and participated in a Q&A session with preschoolers during lunch.

The governor and secretary also heard about the Youth Development Center’s work to implement more than $700,000 in Child Care Counts grants, and how they plan to use the $5,700-plus they received in the first round of Child Care Bridge Payments.

Funds from this first month’s payment, totaling $8.7 million, were awarded to more than 3,100 providers across the state and will support the retention of 25,531 staff and the care of 126,181 kids, according to data released by the Evers Administration.

“Supporting Wisconsin’s child care industry is the first step in ensuring a long and stable future for all of Wisconsin’s kids, families, and communities, and with the Child Care Bridge Payments Program, there is a guaranteed route of financial support for child care facilities across the state,” said Gov. Evers.

“Thanks to the quick work of our partners at DCF, we were able to get these critical funds out the door so that Wisconsin’s child care providers didn’t experience any gap in payments due to the winding down of the Child Care Counts Program.

“While these new payments help connect the dots for Wisconsin families by lowering out-of-pocket costs and ensuring safe and reliable child care, they are not an end-all, be-all solution, which is why we must continue our efforts in finding common ground on means to address the challenges this industry faces in the long term,” Evers said.

Under the new Child Care Bridge Payments Program, the first round of direct payments is 87% of what providers were receiving under the last round of payments from the Child Care Counts Program. The next application window will be open Sept. 20-28, with additional opportunities to apply each month through June 2026. Wisconsin child care providers can find more information on how to apply at dcf.wisconsin.gov/childcare/payments

The Child Care Bridge Payments Program is similar to the successful Child Care Counts Program, which was launched by Gov. Evers and the Evers Administration in 2020 and helped more than 5,700 child care providers keep their doors open, ensured the employment of more than 75,000 child care professionals, and allowed providers to continue care for more than 430,000 kids. The Child Care Bridge Payments Program will provide the financial stability providers need to stay open, recruit and retain qualified staff, and continue providing high-quality care for Wisconsin’s youths.