At Critchlow Adkins Children’s Center Pre-School in Talbot County on a recent day, Sah’mir Lee, 3, smoothly stroked Cristy Morrell’s hair while holding a toy curling iron.
“Do you do braids?” Morrell asked Sah’mir, who continued to caress Morrell’s hair.
It’s the sort of learning through play that Morrell, the executive director of Critchlow Adkins, wants to give all the children at its five sites in the county. But currently, only about 85% of the 350 slots at those sites are filled.
That could change soon, with an infusion of $20 million into the state’s child care scholarship program, which has seen its enrollment frozen since May 1, 2025. The funding, approved by lawmakers this year, aims to cut the current waiting list of 5,000 families by more than half, starting next fiscal year.
When funding will actually arrive and how many seats could be filled at Critchlow Adkins and other centers remains unclear.
Among the lawmakers for whom advocates said they were “grateful” was Del. Ben Barnes (D-Prince George’s and Anne Arundel), chair of the House Appropriations Committee. Besides the $20 million toward the child care scholarship program, Barnes helped get an additional $15.7 million in the fiscal 2027 budget for early childhood education – $10 million toward the prekindergarten expansion grant program and nearly $5.7 million in the state’s child care credential program.
Early childhood education is one of the five pillars, or priorities, of the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future education reform plan.
“It’s all encompassing,” Barnes said in an interview Friday. “It’s good for families [that] they’ll be able to afford child care. It’s good for the Maryland economy. It’s also just great for these kids between child care and pre-K in success in school as they move on.”
‘A no brainer’
Two Montgomery County Democrats, Dels. Julie Palakovich Carr and Bernice Mireku-North, also successfully sponsored companion measures – House Bill 1321 and House Bill 849 – to not only reduce the waiting list, but also ensure families receive additional information on other early childhood education programs.
Part of Palakovich Carr’s HB 1321 would implement a partial scholarship system that would increase copayments for some families based on income. Total payments would be capped at 7% of household income. The bill also requires the state Department of Education to provide information for families on the scholarship waitlist for prekindergarten, Head Start or Early Start programs that may be available in their jurisdictions.
Mireku-North sponsored HB 849 that includes codifying the department’s current scholarship exceptions based on certain income guidelines and other eligibility requirements, such as families receiving temporary cash assistance (TCA), Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or having a sibling already enrolled in the program. The bill also added scholarship eligibility for “a child who is homeless.”
Mireku-North’s bill was one of the priorities of the Legislative Black Caucus during the session. Mireku-North said she and other caucus members discussed how several early childhood businesses in their districts had fewer children enrolled because some parents either weren’t eligible for the scholarships or couldn’t afford the tuition.
“It was right for the Black Caucus to make it a priority because we really realized how strong of a tie child care is to our economy and businesses, especially Black businesses,” she said Saturday. “A lot of child care workers and those that need the child care scholarships, a significant number of them are families of color, are Black families. It was just kind of a no brainer to have this push done at this time and to have the support that we had.”
Palakovich Carr also sponsored, who was joined with Del. Aletheia McCaskill (D-Baltimore County), House Bill 561, that requires the governor to extend the state’s child care credential program by almost $5.7 million, reflecting the fiscal 2024 appropriation. Funding for the program would start in fiscal 2028 though fiscal 2030.
The program helps child care workers participate in professional development activities, educational training and tuition assistance at a college or university.
Even though early childhood was one of the highlights of this year’s legislative session, Palakovich Carr acknowledged some families may still not be eligible and must remain on the waiting list for now.
“I would just say that families shouldn’t give up hope. Relief is coming,” she said Thursday. “I would just encourage families to really look at all the options that are available to them. If they are on the wait list, [then] see if there is something else that maybe would give them some relief sooner.”
All three bills, if signed by the governor, would take effect July 1.
Feeder system
Back in Talbot County, students in the 2- and 3-year-old classroom sat on a carpet and listened to lead teacher Lanique Emory give some instructions before they could enjoy some play time.
While some children played with a miniature house and other toys, Bennett Nadolney and Levison Matthews, both 3, chose to sit quietly at a table and put puzzles together. Outside in the play area, other children could be heard chasing each other, riding tricycles and shooting basketball.
“This is the kind of experience we want to give all children. Our focus is early literacy, but the kids are still learning social skills through play,” said Morrell, a former elementary teacher.
When the children enter prekindergarten, parents can enroll them at the Critchlow Adkins School Age Center, which operates before- and after-care. Not only does it manage summer school activities, it also opens on certain days when public schools are closed.
With a current enrollment of 47 students in two classrooms, children receive breakfast in the morning. With time permitting, there’s even some assistance on classwork and other assignments. Besides snacks in the afternoon, students participate in literature-based STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) activities.
The School Age site is connected to Easton Elementary, whose student population of 1,046 from prekindergarten to fifth grade this year was sixth in the state.
“Our kids from the preschool site … are much more advanced than our off-the-street kids that we’ve seen come through the doors,” said Keieve Colbert, site director at Critchlow’s School Age center, who has worked there since 2004.
“The child care scholarship is a blessing because it allows those families to get into our preschools, to start their early learning and then to feed into here,” Colbert said.