The COVID 19 pandemic made things tougher for Kentucky's child care centers, and they're still unaffordable for some parents and unavailable to others.

A Western Kentucky senator's bill to deal with those problems took a step forward today.

And Frankfort.

Here's more from Kentucky Edition's Clayton Dalton on what's called the Horizons Act.

As we began tonight's legislative update.

Well, I think the worst thing that could possibly happen for our Commonwealth is to do nothing.

As federal rescue money dries up, the child care industry in Kentucky needs help.

Without aid from the state.

Childcare costs for families could increase, centers could cut worker salaries, and some providers may have to close their doors altogether.

The Horizons Act is a sweeping piece of legislation for early childhood education, with an estimated $300 million price tag.

The bill aims to help families and child care centers alike.

We can stand up for our kids.

We can show the importance that they are.

We can give them the proper education that we that they need.

We start looking at education at birth, and we invest in these youngest students.

The bill is a multilayered approach.

It provides money to families for child care, offers grants to traditional childcare centers that open or expand and provides money for small home based centers which are needed in rural parts of the state.

When I look at the financials for my organization in every month, without fail, we lose money in early childhood education every month.

And if it weren't for the other programs that we offer, our doors would be closed and that would be 100 110 kids without services.

And that's common across this entire state with these facilities.

But one lawmaker worries that the educational focus of the bill could present obstacles.

I worry about, you know, we have a school choice issue coming up.

And one of the reasons we we keep getting hung up on that is because state dollars are going to private educational institutes.

A lot of debate about that.

If state dollars can go that way as far as, ah, the way our Constitution's written.

This would be if this is truly curriculum where we're teaching kids and educating kids on a younger level, how will we get past that same constitutional issue, that other school choice?

Educational bills in the past have been hung up on?

In 2021, Kentucky lawmakers passed the Educational Opportunity Account Act.

It created a privately funded assistance program to cover school costs for families, including tuition and other expenses at private schools.

A year later, in 2022, the Kentucky Supreme Court declared that bill unconstitutional.

Sara Vanover with Kentucky youth advocates, said she doesn't believe the funding will be a problem.

The funding goes to the family.

It is awarded to the family.

And then the family may select which program they would like to enroll their child in.

So if it's faith based, if it's nonprofit there, there are no restrictions on that as the family, as the family, as the awardee.

And that aligns with constitutional allowance on on those funds based on what the family selects.

Senator Carroll said he believes the spillover effects of the bill will help Kentucky as a whole.

We can invest in our economy to make sure that families are able to go back to work to meet our workforce needs, that we can attract business and industry to this Commonwealth.

Senate Bill 203 received bipartisan support in committee with the lone no vote.

The Horizons Act now heads to the Kentucky Senate for full consideration.

For Kentucky Edition, I'm Clayton Dalton.