St. Paul, MN- On Monday Governor Mark Dayton signed into law SF3208, authored by Rep. Mary Franson, R-Alexandria, a bill to establish a Legislative Task Force on Child Care. The task force will vet and unpack the complex issues causing high costs and access issues in child care, while maintaining Minnesota’s nation-leading quality and safety standards. Representative Franson is the Chair of the Select Committee on Affordable Child Care. The bill was authored in the Senate by DFL Sen. Vicki Jensen, DFL-Owatonna.
“This task force is an important step toward solving our state's childcare access issues,” said Rep. Franson. “I'm looking forward to working with providers, parents, and my colleagues at the legislature on ways to make quality childcare more accessible to Minnesota families in all parts of the state. I believe that cooperation among legislators and stakeholders will lead to positive results for the childcare industry. When childcare thrives, our state thrives—it truly is a building block of our economy.”
Minnesota has lost more than 3,000 in-home providers over the past 10 years. This past summer, legislators held meetings across the state with providers, parents, and other stakeholders to gain feedback and ideas on how to address Minnesota's childcare shortage.
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