OKLAHOMA CITY (OBV) — State leaders are working to alleviate Oklahoma’s childcare crisis by supporting legislation that incentivizes businesses to help their employees obtain childcare.
House Bill 1848, written by Rep. Suzanne Schreiber, R-Tulsa, succeeded in the Oklahoma House of Representatives with a 63-19 vote. The bill will now move to the Senate.
The bill gives a tax credit to employers who either provide a childcare subsidy to their employees or operates a childcare facility that their employees can use. The tax credit is equal to 30 percent of the subsidy amount or operating cost, limited to $30,000 per employer. It may be claimed for tax year 2026 through 2030 and capped at $5 million in total claims each year.
“I am excited about this bill being sent to the Senate. I’m excited for the conversation to happen in the Senate, because I think both sides of the aisle are continuing to hear the need from our families, our businesses [and] our employers that they need some help on childcare, and they’re willing to help. So, if we can create this three-legged stool with the state participating, parents and families participating and employers participating, we are pulling a lever that we haven’t pulled yet in the childcare world,” Schreiber said during an interview with Oklahoma Business Voice.
HB1848 is the same as a childcare tax incentive bill Schreiber filed last year. Last year’s bill did not fully clear the legislature before the 2024 legislative session was over.
Members of the State Legislature have become familiar with how the bill addresses childcare needs.
“I think if we can express to them that this is a limited sunset credit that offers a solution, it’s worth investing in it and giving it a try to see if we can meet some of our business, economy, family and constituent needs,” Schreiber said. “It has all of the components that it had last year. I think it takes some time for people to internalize those. And so, the second time around, I think they have a memory and an understanding and still hear the of cries for, ‘Hey, we need some help figuring out this childcare puzzle. Maybe this is a pretty cost efficient way to do it.'”
HB1848 also provided a tax credit to childcare workers, but that part was removed from the bill.
“We took that out to make sure that this was very clean and very focused on just the employers who are seeking the workforce and offering them a tax credit to extend resources to their employees that would alleviate some of the costs of childcare for their employees, but also inject dollars into that industry,” Schreiber said.
Schreiber filed two other childcare-related bills, House Bill 1847 and House Bill 1849.
HB1847 requires the Department of Human Services (DHS) and the State Fire Marshal to collaborate in developing guidelines that allow family childcare homes and large childcare homes to operate under the fire protection requirements of the International Residential Code. The bill states that the childcare homes will not be denied an operation license if they comply with code requirements. It also prohibits any agency, municipality, county or other state political subdivision from making stricter fire requirements than the ones in the International Residential Code.
HB1849 requires that household income is exempted from consideration from licensed childcare facility employees’ eligibility for the Child Care Subsidy Program.
The childcare crisis continues to be deeply felt in Oklahoma, with many working families struggling to find accessible and affordable childcare.
American Rescue Plan Act funds from the federal government injected some stabilization into the childcare market.
“But now that those one-time dollars are gone, we’re starting to see some really devastating effects,” Schreiber said.
The state has seen 2,800 childcare spots closed in the last year, according to Schreiber.
“And we’ll probably get a new number soon that will be even more than that,” she said.
Childcare facilities are also closing.
“There’s a multitude of factors that are causing that. Some of it is one-time money. Some of it is changes in the star quality rating method,” Schreiber said. “But the bottom line is, what we need to do as a legislature is look at what we can do in advance. And in particular, HB1848 as an effort to solve problems with things that we can control. There’s some things we cannot control. We’re not getting our market dollars back. That’s not happening. So, what can we do to do our part to shore up this market to make sure that our employers have the workforce that they need to make sure that our kids are getting quality and safe childcare? And we’ve got HB1848 leading the pack on that effort.”
Oklahoma has been experiencing a child care crisis for several years now. Child care facilities are either too few in many areas of the state, too expensive or often both.
An Oklahoma State University report, Understanding Access and Barriers to Childcare in Oklahoma, cited Center for American Progress data, which shows that 55 percent of Oklahoma’s population live in childcare deserts and that such deserts are in both rural and urban areas.
OSU’s report referenced DHS Childcare data that showed Oklahoma having 3,102 licensed child care facilities across the state’s 77 counties in October 2023.
“This number ranged from zero licensed facilities in Cimarron County to 839 facilities in Oklahoma County,” the report states.
Oklahoma Health and Human Services classified 35 counties – nearly half of the counties in Oklahoma – as a childcare desert.
“The implication is that over 66% of children in these communities may be without childcare options,” the OSU report states.
If a parent has a child care facility in their area, they might have trouble finding a spot for their child. The report found that Oklahoma, on average, has 3.5 children for each licensed childcare slot.
“The median is 2.45, which means that half of all counties in Oklahoma have more than two children per available licensed childcare slot,” the report states.
However, a parent might not be able to afford child care even if they are able to find a facility with an available spot.
Child care had an average annual cost of $11,582 per child in 2023. The report described the annual cost as taking 10 percent of a married couple’s median household income and 32 percent of a single parent’s median household income.
Programs such as the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) Act and initiatives like the Child Tax Credit expansion were enacted to help make child care more affordable for working families, but many families throughout the nation and across Oklahoma still struggle.
“Despite these efforts, challenges persist, and access to affordable, high-quality childcare remains a significant concern for many American families, including Oklahomans,” the report states.
Oklahoma businesses have been adversely impacted by the childcare facility and worker shortage, seeing a 6.1 percent decline in workforce labor participation among Oklahoma mothers who have children ranging in age from infant to four years old.
“Often times, the parent has to either leave the workforce or make a new work arrangement. It’s even harder if a family has nontraditional hours of care that they need; it’s very difficult to find childcare that operates outside traditional hours of 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.,” Carrie Williams, executive director of Oklahoma Child Care Resource and Referral, previously said to Oklahoma Business Voice.
Parents nationwide are exiting the workforce due to diminishing child care options.
A U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation study states that 58 percent of working parents reported leaving their job because they could not find viable child care. Also, 32 percent of women surveyed said having to be home to care for family members made returning to work difficult.
