“Every child deserves a bright future, and it begins with access to high quality child care,” said Janie Cole, DoHS Bureau for Family Assistance Commissioner. “Your input is invaluable in shaping the future of West Virginia’s children as we strive to ensure every voice is heard in our mission to enhance child care services across the state.”

Public insight gathered from the meetings will help guide expenditures for the approximately $72 million received that provides support to improve the affordability, availability, and quality of child care services in West Virginia. Funding assists low-income families in covering the cost of child care, supports consumer education for selecting appropriate child care services, and provides key services such as referral, available resources, necessary training, and technical assistance to child care providers. 

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services requires public input as a condition of funding. The draft plan requirements are currently available for review at any child care resource and referral agency. A list of child care resource and referral agencies can be found here.

The public hearing will be held virtually on May 30, 2024, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Once finalized, instructions for virtual hosting will be posted in the announcements section on dhhr.wv.gov/bfa. BFA will also accept public comments via email to ECEproviders@wv.gov through June 23, 2024, at 5:00 p.m.