Jacob Ogles
Rep. Fiona McFarland started her fourth Legislative Session as the mother of three children under age 4. So she knows a thing about the cost of day care.
“Unless you have a child under 5, this is probably not on your mind,” the Sarasota Republican said. “But if you do, you are on your own to care for your kid. Until 5 when they go to school, you are on your own. If you have to work, or you want to work, you have to put your child in care.”
That’s why her top priority this year will be passing a bill (HB 635) boosting tax credits for companies who open their own child care facilities or contract for care with local providers. As written, the bill allows anyone opening a child care facility a credit for up to 50% of the startup costs, with some limits based on the size of the company. For a company providing child care for employees, the bill allows a tax credit worth up to $300 for each eligible child served.
McFarland said she was surprised that even in suburban Sarasota, child care was both scarce and costly. Talking to numerous parents, she found they encountered difficulty.
She said in an economic climate with low unemployment rates, companies will need to compete for workers. Those who see child care as a good benefit to offer should also see some help from the state, she suggested.
Family issues could dominate McFarland’s agenda this year. She feels confident about years of work updating a formula for community-based child services providers. Southwest Florida has been shortchanged for years under the existing formula. Sarasota’s judicial circuit has seen some of lowest per capita funding but one of the highest caseloads.
McFarland notes that some wealthier districts have seen high-profile scandals with certain providers.
In Tampa Bay, the state cut ties with Eckerd Connects after some high-profile child deaths and a history of housing children in unlicensed facilities. In Orlando, Embrace Families elected not to seek a contract renewal amid state tension about management decisions.
McFarland filed a bill (HB 1061) that would both reexamine funding calculations and implement accountability measures.
She’s also a secondary sponsor for one of Speaker Paul Renner’s priority bills prohibiting minors under age 16 from social media platforms. She will work with Rep. Tyler Sirois, a Merritt Island Republican, to shepherd the legislation (HB 1) through the process. Sirois worked on a social media literacy bill in prior cycles while McFarland worked on a data privacy bill passed last year after three Sessions of work.
McFarland knows some have pushed back on the issue as a parental rights matter, though she notes prohibitions on children smoking and drinking exist in state law.
