EXCERPT: “Minnesota lawmakers on Friday passed a bill to hike the state’s meager reimbursement payments for child care providers that serve low-income families, an injection of new money into a subsidy program that is facing federal sanctions and has struggled to prevent fraud in recent years. While many in the GOP had previously been uneasy about using state money to raise rates for the Child Care Assistance Program amid fraud concerns, the deal brokered Friday will use only federal cash to hike reimbursements to meet federal standards. Democrats and Republicans hailed the CCAP bill as a way to help poor families manage the high cost of child care and help a critical industry that was struggling to make ends meet even before the COVID-19 pandemic. State Rep. Mary Franson, an Alexandria Republican who has frequently criticized CCAP, said the measure would help providers that have ‘stepped up’ to serve families during the outbreak, even if it wouldn’t entice many workers into an industry she said is overregulated. Franson helped negotiate the bill, which some Republicans voted against, but passed with wide GOP support.” FULL STORY: https://fluence-media.co/37T3nkO
