Trump’s War on Child Care
In its announcement of the proposed change, HHS said that the up-front payment requirement makes it easier for child care centers to defraud the government by receiving money before services are rendered. But that goes against the standard used by the private sector, said Karen Schulman, the director of state child care policy at the National Women’s Law Center.
“Usually [when] a parent comes in, they don’t say, ‘I’ll pay you after, at the end of the month.’ No, the provider receives the payment at the beginning of the month,” she said. Requiring payments up front ensures that child care centers will reliably be paid and, in turn, will pay their staff on time. “This [rule] was insurance for the provider,” Schulman said.