Over 200 child care centers have closed since CCDF cuts in mid-2025, according to the Association for the Education of Young Children. Three of those in Crawfordsville alone. One of Purdue’s three centers announced closure on January 16. The closures are putting center employees out of work. Families are left scrambling not only for a new provider, but a workable way to meet their bills. Among those filling the gap are licensed home childcare providers, now working longer hours and less pay.
The crisis is deepening. And in his 2026 state of the state address, Governor Mike Braun spent just three sentences noting child care should be more affordable and available. You know, to grow the economy and help Hoosiers “get better jobs.” He promised to dig in during the budget session to see “what we can do to invest in lowering child care costs. I would like to see a program where businesses have some skin in the game to make child care more affordable”
During the budget session? The next budget session is a year off, in 2027. To survive the void, parents are losing or changing jobs, heightening concerns about overall economic health. New families are stuck on years-long waitlists for vouchers, either not working or trying to find alternatives, and when a current family loses their voucher, they’re shut out of the program for at least two years, says Marcia Chandler, a licensed Parke County provider[SG1] with decades of experience.
Surviving centers and home providers like Chandler’s are the providers being penalized for the state’s misplaced priorities. (Note: Governor Braun has now told the Indianapolis Business Journal and announced to the state that he would like to incentivize the Chicago Bears to northern Indiana. That will cost tax dollars. Hoosiers footed 86.5% of Lucas Oil Stadium’s $720 million price tag to the tune of $622.8 million.)
“Parents can’t accept jobs until they have child care sorted out,” Chandler explains. “They piece together care from various individuals, which is not what is best for developing children. Parents lose jobs due to lack of child care. Employers lose good employees. Ripple effect.”
Chandler says some families try to absorb increased out‑of‑pocket costs after CCDF reimbursement levels were reduced, which means they have to cut expenses elsewhere. She describes a familiar pattern when care is delayed or unaffordable: parents postpone starting jobs until child care is arranged, patch together informal arrangements with multiple caregivers, and sometimes lose jobs when those arrangements fall apart.
Chandler, who prefers to be described as a licensed child care provider who opens her home to children and families, stresses that providers like her are rarely in the field “to make money.” At the same time, she argues that the broader economy depends on a stable child care system, and that providers and low‑income families cannot sustain it alone. Still she’s doing what she can.
Chandler herself has absorbed the losses in order to keep all of her existing families enrolled. Her Class I child care home serves children from six weeks to 13 years old with capacity for 15 children when she has an assistant. The children currently in her care have been with her from one to five years, reflecting a high level of continuity and long-term relationships with families.
“Stability and consistency are what the children and families need,” she says. “So that is what I will provide for as long as I can. The children who are already enrolled come, and we’ll figure out the dollars together later.”
Chandler reports that enrollment at her home remains steady at the moment because her current families still qualify for Child Care Development Fund (CCDF) vouchers under the current rules. Families are recertified for CCDF on a staggered, annual schedule, she explains. That means the full impact of tightened eligibility will not be felt until more of them reach their renewal dates. The damage will accumulate because state policy changes have lowered the income threshold for eligibility to 135% of the federal poverty level, thereby excluding more working families over time.
Chandler has no open slots, so when inquiring families call, the conversation turns to helping them locate other quality care and explaining available assistance programs.
Chandler has long used a sliding fee scale, based on market rates and federal poverty guidelines, which gives her some flexibility in what she charges families. She currently cares for 12 children using vouchers, a share she says is consistent with prior years. She has not participated in the On My Way Pre‑K preschool voucher program even though she qualifies. Notably, On My Way Pre‑K is undergoing significant cuts, including a reduction in funded preschool seats and lower reimbursement rates for providers.
The recent changes in funding have hit school‑aged care particularly hard. Chandler now has eight school‑aged children in her group, and she says that this is the age group that has seen the steepest decrease in support for before‑ and after‑school services and care during school breaks. Other providers have responded by limiting or discontinuing school‑age slots because the financial model no longer works for them.
Asked what would most help her stay licensed, maintain quality, and keep serving low‑income families, Chandler points to direct financial support for families whose CCDF benefits have been reduced. Asked what solutions might mitigate the funding cuts, she suggests that scholarships or local grants could help bridge gaps created by state and federal funding decisions. State and independent analyses similarly warn that without additional investment, fewer children will be served.
Meanwhile, Governor Braun seems poised to charge toward another NFL team, making it seem he doesn’t quite grasp how critical child care is to all of Indiana’s counties, including its rural ones