NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Federal cuts to childcare funding are coming to Tennessee — to the tune of $44.5 million — and some worry about the potential ripple effects.
According to the Tennessee Department of Human Services website, the department has made adjustments to certain childcare programs due to “the Child Care Development Fund (CCDF) discretionary award to Tennessee being reduced by approximately $44.5 million for the 2025 fiscal year.”
Karma Carter, an early childhood educator and assistant director at a Middle Tennessee childcare center, told News 2 that as a result of the funding cuts, the Tennessee Early Childcare Training Alliance program will end Oct. 1. TECTA helps students pursuing a career in early childhood education pay for school.
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It’s an incentive that draws many to work in the childcare industry, and it helped Carter turn early childhood education into a career…