Mississippi’s Child Care Crisis Is a Choice—and It Can Be Fixed

In 2025, thousands of working Mississippi parents lost access to child care when the state paused most new applications to the Child Care Payment Program (CCPP). The impact was immediate: parents were forced to leave jobs, child care centers lost revenue, classrooms closed, and children were pushed out of stable early learning environments.

CCPP is the backbone of Mississippi’s child care system, supporting full-day, full-year care for working parents and parents in education or job training. Yet after temporary federal funds expired, access to the program was reduced even as demand surged. By the end of 2025, 16,000 families (reportedly) were waiting for child care assistance, while providers reported layoffs, closures, and families in crisis.

This is not a problem of need. It is a problem of policy. Mississippi has existing federal tools, including Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funds, that can be used to restore child care access for working parents. Other states already do this.

Child care is workforce infrastructure. When we cut it, parents can’t work and businesses can’t function. Mississippi can choose a different path—one that keeps parents working, providers open, and children learning.

Mississippi leaders should act now to use available federal TANF dollars to restore CCPP access and stabilize child care for working families statewide.

Learn more about the current state of Mississippi's Child Care Payment Program by clicking the document link below.

TANF For Child Care 1 pager.docx (1).pdf

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