SUSSEX CO., Del. - A proposed expansion of universal Pre-Kindergarten for four-year-olds in Delaware has community-based preschool advocates warning of further strains on an already fragile child care system in Sussex County.
The Delaware Department of Education, however, says the fears are unfounded.
At a Delaware Office of Management and Budget hearing on Thursday, Nov. 20, the Department of Education outlined their budgetary request for fiscal year 2027. The department listed numerous priorities in the proposed budget, including an expansion of early learning in the First State.
Specifically, the DOE listed expanding high-quality, universally funded Pre-K so 70% of 4-year-olds could be enrolled by 2028, according to a single line in the DOE’s budget presentation. In order to accomplish this, DOE leaders say they’ll focus on workforce development, program standards, and obtaining the necessary state funding.
Local organizations like the Child Care Association of Sussex County were quick to respond to the proposal on Thursday, saying if 4-year-olds are placed only in school district settings, community-based child care programs would suffer, leading to a further lack of child care options for the parents of younger children.
Toni Dickerson, Administrator of Sussex Preschools and Chair of the Child Care Association of Sussex County, says without those enrolled 4-year-olds, care costs would become even more expensive, and community programs could shut down in an area that can’t afford to lose those options. In an open letter released Thursday, Dickerson referred to Western Sussex County as a “child care desert.”
“The term ‘child care desert’ is not just symbolic - it means the infrastructure is so thin that one policy misstep can wipe out what little exists,” Dickerson writes. “Wester Sussex is already operating at the edge of collapse. A 4-year-old-only expansion would push us over that edge.”
The solution, Dickerson says, is to ensure mixed delivery, where child care programs outside of the school system also receive the necessary financial support from the state, and implementing a Birth-to-Five policy that Dickerson claims would ensure equitable access for all families.
WBOC spoke with Dickerson, who runs her own child care agency, Little Sprout Learning Academy, in Seaford. She tells us that without the older children enrolled to offset the cost of the younger toddlers and infants, the Academy would need more funding from the state to stay in business.
"They would probably have to triple the funding they have in place for infants and toddlers,” Dickerson said. “I think we can move forward with universal preschool, we just have to do it deliberately and intentionally. It needs to be mixed delivery. Families should have the option to choose center based programs like mine, or a district replacement."
The Delaware Department of Education tells WBOC they have no intention of taking enrollment away from community-based child care programs, and said they, too, want a mixed delivery system.
"Our goal is for there to be enough spaces for everyone where they choose to go, where parents still have a choice so that they would be able to receive funding to send their child to a public school, or funding to send their child to a private child care business," Department of Education spokesperson Alison May said.
Education leaders say programs like Dickerson’s shouldn’t be worried about losing enrollment and that the concerns stem from a misunderstanding of the budget presentation. May says they’ll revisit the language surrounding the proposal going forward.
The DOE says the budget talks that sparked the concerns are still very much in the early phase and Delaware still has a long road before the 70% enrollment goal is reached.
WBOC reached back out to Dickerson after speaking with state officials to relay their reassurances. She said that until she sees written confirmation that schools like hers will get support, she still has some of those original concerns.
