“Proponents note the broad range of prospective grant opportunities offered under SB 565’s trust fund — which would be overseen by a seven-member board appointed by the governor — would support enhancements not only in the child care system but in Montana’s broader structure of early childhood services.
‘We recognize child care is a big part of the early childhood system, but there are other services and supports that families access day-in day-out that are also really critical,’ Caitlin Jensen, executive director of the nonprofit Zero to Five Montana, told MTFP in a recent interview. ‘That includes early intervention, before- and after-school care, home visiting, early learning, early literacy. [SB 565] really helps to put everything in a larger framework and identifies different ways that this fund could help to support critical infrastructure for the child care and early childhood system in Montana.’”