The Sandbox: October 2026
Montgomery County’s WPA Proposal Is Progress, but Families Need More
Montgomery County is fortunate to have State and County leaders who recognize the importance of supporting children, families, employees, and employers. But as child care costs continue to rise, our programs and policies must keep pace with families’ needs.
In previous editions of The Sandbox, the Children’s Opportunity Alliance explored the challenges of child care affordability and access. Read our May and August editions to learn more.
WPA Modernization: Progress, With More Work Ahead
Montgomery County is accepting written comments through November 5, 2026, on proposed updates to the Working Parents Assistance (WPA) Program regulations. The Alliance served on the County’s WPA Modernization Workgroup and supports these long-overdue changes. The rules have not been substantively updated since the 1980s.
The proposed updates would modernize income eligibility, help families maintain assistance when their earnings increase, promote stability for children, and remove unnecessary barriers to accessing support.
These changes are progress, but they are not the finish line. The Alliance urges the County to pair expanded eligibility with increased funding, establish categorical eligibility for early childhood educators who need assistance paying for their own children’s care, and provide providers with the support needed to meet Maryland EXCELS requirements.
State and County Investments Matter
The Alliance’s Early Care and Education Common Agenda calls for a more accessible, affordable, and coordinated system. Within our strategy to expand affordable access to high-quality early care and education programs by reducing the cost and removing barriers for families, we are moving forward many key actions designed to increase the number of children zero to five in publicly subsidized seats to 18,000 children by 2030. Local programs like WPA and EquiCare are pieces of the puzzle that provide subsidized child care for eligible families, but historically, more children have been served by state-funded programs including Child Care Scholarship and Pre-K.
Child Care Scholarship (CCS) has been under a partial enrollment freeze since May of this year, and families and child care programs are bearing the burden of waiting. The Maryland General Assembly made several changes to CCS to provide guidance on managing the waitlist and to serve more eligible families; read more about them here.
Maryland allocated an additional $20 million to the Child Care Scholarship program during the 2026 legislative session. Montgomery County Council also approved an additional $500,000 for WPA in the FY27 budget. We appreciate these investments, particularly during a challenging budget year, while recognizing that more funding is needed to meet families’ needs.
Child care is essential to children’s development, parents’ workforce participation, and our local economy. Sustained state and county investment is critical to ensuring families can access the care they need.
Your Voice Matters
Here’s how you can help:
Submit comments on the proposed WPA regulations by November 5, 2026. Share why affordable child care matters to your family or community.
Thank your County Councilmember for the additional funding while encouraging continued investment to reach more families.
Montgomery County has taken important steps forward, but more work remains. Together, we can build a more affordable, accessible, and equitable early care and education system for all children and families.