BY CAROLINE SIEBELS-LINDQUIST, FREELANCE CONTRIBUTOR
Iowa’s government officials and advocacy organizations continue to look for solutions to the state’s child care crisis. On April 9, Gov. Kim Reynolds signed into law House File 2514, which ensures that children of child care workers are eligible for the state child care assistance program.
“I heard from so many child care providers that this was the make-or-break to keep people in the profession,” Iowa Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott (D-Dallas County) said at the floor debate on March 30. “Because a lot of our child care providers are parents of young children, and so this is a benefit that helps them to continue to work in that field, and that makes a difference for all of our families with young children.”
Paige Chickering, Iowa state manager for Save The Children Action Network, was elated.
“We’re excited anytime we see investments being made in the child care system,” Chickering said. “We’re hopeful that we will continue to see more investment.”
The state has also continued its support of another child care initiative that launched last year. On March 10, 2026, Reynolds announced $5.2 million in grant awards to expand 19 child care and preschool program partnerships across the state, specifically supporting full-day care for 4-year-olds through staffing and transportation funding. This is the second round of the Continuum of Care grant program awards, with the state having received a total of 159 applications. An expected third round of awards is set to be announced this fall. The grants, $300,000 over three years, aim to improve staffing and set expanded child care hours for licensed child care centers and Statewide Voluntary Preschool Program sites.
Iowa Women’s Foundation: There’s ‘room for more dollars’
Claudia Schabel, president and CEO of the Iowa Women’s Foundation, says that of the six major barriers impeding Iowa women’s economic prosperity (employment, child care, housing, education and training, transportation, and available mentors), “a lack of access to affordable, quality child care was singled out as the primary barrier.”
Having worked with Iowa Health and Human Services on the Iowa Childcare Solutions Funds pilot program, which recently came to a conclusion, Schabel continues to advocate for public-private partnerships as the best solution for child care challenges.
“In terms of next steps for the Iowa Women’s Foundation, we’re still a very strong, key stakeholder when it comes to child care issues, helping our communities, and helping our leaders understand that this needs to be a really serious discussion and partnership,” Schabel said.
Schabel welcomes the continuation of Reynolds’ grant program, but notes that there’s more demand than supply.
“We definitely support this innovative idea of leveraging the organizations that are already offering care for the 4-year-olds in their communities, which are lacking that full-day continuum.
“You can definitely see that there is room for more dollars, so there are more partnerships. But [in a pilot program] you do tend to start small. $5.2 million doesn’t go very far when thinking about child care, when thinking about a statewide initiative. Allocating more dollars so you can scale the program more quickly would definitely be a plus for all of us,” Schabel said.
Bipartisan support for addressing child care
Some child care initiatives have gained bipartisan in Iowa. HF2514 passed the Iowa House and Senate with almost unanimous support.
“[It’s] exciting to see legislators from both sides of the aisle coming to agreement on something at a time when often, politically, we’re very divided,” Chickering said. “The need for more affordability and child care [is really] a top priority for so many working families. I think legislators are really hearing that from their constituents across Iowa, and doing their best to prioritize [child care] at the state level.”
But if Schabel had it her way, she’d institute universal child care in Iowa, like New Mexico established last year.
“[New Mexico’s] initiative … removes income liability requirements and waives family co-payments, making child care accessible to all New Mexicans,” Schabel says. “It doesn’t matter if you have the means or if you don’t have the means, all children will get a head start in life.”
Danielle Sample, communications director for the Iowa Health and Human Services department, said, “Iowa HHS looks forward to working with legislators to provide foundational information about Iowa’s child care system and to offer feedback and support as they consider future legislative proposals.”
Since the grant program falls under Reynolds’ executive office, it’s unclear whether Iowa’s incoming governor will resume the program.
