Long waitlist for subsidized child care in Virginia to continue into FY26

This story was reported and written by VPM News.
Virginia’s budget for the upcoming fiscal year does not include funding requested by a coalition of lawmakers, business owners and advocates to fully fund slots for thousands of children currently waitlisted for subsidized child care programs in the commonwealth.
State officials estimate about 4,000 children will be able to move off a waitlist for the Child Care Subsidy Program in the new fiscal year (which runs from July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026), but thousands of additional families will remain waitlisted.
Jenna Conway, Virginia’s deputy superintendent of early childhood care and education, worries that failing to fully clear the waitlist is creating “a real disconnect and disruption in the system” for both providers and families.
“You can’t pay payroll with a waitlist spot. You can’t pay your tuition with a waitlist spot,” Conway told VPM News. “All you can do is wait.”
The waitlist jumped from approximately 3,000 kids last August to over 12,000 kids by Jan. 1, but has plateaued in recent months.