Indiana Restarts Child Care Vouchers with $200M Boost

The state will add 14,000 children to the Child Care and Development Fund program after a 15-month freeze.

Apr. 16, 2026 at 9:21pm

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An extremely blurred, dreamlike scene of a parent and child playing together in a warm, cozy setting, captured in soft, hazy pools of light and color.The restart of Indiana's child care voucher program aims to help families access affordable care, but long-term funding remains uncertain.Indianapolis Today

Indiana will resume offering child care vouchers in May after a 15-month freeze, adding around 14,000 children to the Child Care and Development Fund program for a total enrollment of 57,000. The state is providing a one-time $200 million boost to fund the program, though around 20,000 children will remain on a waitlist.

Why it matters

The freeze on child care vouchers and waitlist have contributed to the closure of hundreds of child care providers in Indiana, exacerbating families' challenges with accessing and paying for care. The additional funding aims to address this issue, though uncertainty remains about long-term program support.

The details

Republican Gov. Mike Braun announced the $200 million in additional funding to add around 14,000 more children to the Child Care and Development Fund program, which provides subsidies to income-eligible families. The Family and Social Services Administration will be able to process around 3,000 new child care vouchers per month. Priority for new vouchers will go to siblings of current enrollees, infants, toddlers, and preschoolers, as well as children with disabilities and in foster care.

  • Indiana will begin offering families help with child care costs again in May 2026.
  • The $200 million in additional funding will last for one year.

The players

Mike Braun

The Republican governor of Indiana who announced the additional $200 million in funding for the child care voucher program.

Mitch Roob

The secretary of Indiana's Family and Social Services Administration, who stated that fully funding child care vouchers for all enrolled and waitlisted children would cost the state approximately $350 million per year.

Adam Alson

The director of Indiana's Office of Early Childhood and Out-of-School Learning at the Family and Social Services Administration, who told lawmakers that the $200 million in additional funding was the approach the state chose to execute.

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What they’re saying

“The parents and the providers are … prone to think of this as a long-term benefit, and so we're going to have to decide if they're right to expect a long-term program that's a real benefit or not.”

— Ed DeLaney, Democratic Representative of Indianapolis

“We as a society concluded that work was important and we should be paying for child care to get people to work.”

— Mitch Roob, FSSA Secretary

What’s next

FSSA officials told lawmakers they will ask for the additional $200 million in funding to continue in the next biennial state budget, for a total request of around $239 million. However, it is not certain that the budget will include this long-term funding, creating uncertainty for providers and families.

The takeaway

The restart of Indiana's child care voucher program with a $200 million boost aims to address the closure of hundreds of providers and help families access affordable care, but long-term funding remains uncertain, raising concerns about the program's sustainability.