NEW COLUMN: Why won’t MTGOP support working families?
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, March 31, 2025
CONTACT
gaby@montanademocrats.org
Helena, MT– In a new column, Montana Democratic Party Interim Executive Director Justin Ailport slams MTGOP lawmakers for refusing to support bills designed to expand access to childcare for working and middle-class families, as well as legislation that would tackle the childcare employee shortage head-on.
Ailport outlines how investing in expanding access to childcare and addressing the childcare employee shortage is good for business and helps rural communities thrive.
Meanwhile, MTGOP lawmakers continue to vote down innovative solutions presented by Democrats, insisting that somehow “the market forces” will magically fix the childcare crisis being felt statewide.
Read More Below
Lee Newspapers: Why won’t MTGOP support working families?
March 29th, 2025
Justin Ailport, Interim Executive Director of the Montana Democratic Party
A recent poll from the Montana Free Press and Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling found that a staggering 71% of Montanans are concerned about the cost of childcare, and 64% said they were concerned about childcare availability in their communities.
Unfortunately, in this legislative session, we’re seeing Republicans are once again 100% out of touch with their constituents' needs as they continue to vote down promising bills designed to make childcare more accessible to families across the state.
Montana Democrats highlighted childcare as a priority at the start of the session and have so far delivered in bringing bills to the table that would expand income-based eligibility for childcare scholarships and provide funding for recruitment and retention programs to address employee shortages.
Representative Jonathan Karlen’s House Bill 457 would have expanded childcare assistance to working and middle-class Montanans, but Republicans killed the bill, offering vague, unintelligible solutions like allowing the “market forces” to fix the problem. Fortunately, Representative Karlen’s House Bill 456, which would automatically qualify childcare workers for the scholarship assistance, is still alive in the House.
Earlier this session, Representative Melissa Romano introduced House Bill 360 which would have created a recruitment and retention support payment program to help tackle the childcare workforce shortage we’re seeing across the state. This bill was tabled by Republicans last month.
MTGOP refuses to support the bills their constituents are asking for, and it’s hard to understand why.
To talk in dollars and cents, investing in improving accessibility to childcare and addressing the childcare workforce shortage is good for business and backed by basic economics.
High childcare costs push people, often mothers, out of the workforce– particularly for working and middle-class families. Increased access to childcare would allow more parents to remain employed, boosting economic productivity. Offering affordable childcare options to working Montanas also means less turnover in the workforce, helping retain employees and allowing local businesses to thrive in communities across the state.
According to the Montana Department of Labor and Industry, most counties in the state are classified as childcare deserts. More investment in expanding childcare services and taking on the employee shortage would allow rural economies to grow and thrive.
It’s time for Republicans to face the facts: their constituents want them to invest in improving access to childcare and finding solutions for the workforce shortage. Will they return home from the session empty-handed? Or will they step up and deliver solutions for working Montanans and their families?
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