SB119 • 2026

Employee Child Care Assistance Pilot Program; established, report.

<p class=ldtitle>A BILL to establish the Employee Child Care Assistance Pilot Program.</p>

Children Labor

Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor: Carroll Foy
Last action: 2026-02-10
Official status: Incorporated
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not specify exact income requirements or matching fund amounts, which are set by the general appropriation act.

Employee Child Care Help Program

This law creates a program that provides matching funds to employers who contribute to child care costs for their employees.

What This Bill Does

Creates the Employee Child Care Assistance Pilot Program (Pilot Program) to provide matching funds to incentivize employer contributions towards employee child care costs.
Requires the Virginia Early Childhood Foundation to establish guidelines and procedures necessary for administering the Pilot Program.
Encourages prioritizing small businesses in awarding funds, but does not mandate it.

Who It Names or Affects

Employers with at least one employee working in Virginia for 20 or more weeks a year.
Employees who need child care assistance.
Small businesses (employers with fewer than 50 employees).

Terms To Know

Eligible mixed delivery provider: A child day center or family day home chosen to provide child care services through a local agreement.
Employer: An employer with at least one employee who works in the Commonwealth for 20 or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding year.

Limits and Unknowns

The exact amount of matching funds and income requirements are set by the general appropriation act.
It is not clear how many employers will participate in the program.

Bill History

2026-02-10 Finance and Appropriations
Incorporated by Finance and Appropriations (SB3-Aird) (15-Y 0-N)
2026-01-29 Education and Health
Reported from Education and Health and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations (15-Y 0-N)
2026-01-23 Senate
Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB119)
2026-01-15 Public Education
Assigned Education sub: Public Education
2026-01-05 Senate
Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26101602D
2026-01-05 Education and Health
Referred to Committee on Education and Health

Official Summary Text

Employee Child Care Assistance Pilot Program.
Establishes the Employee Child Care Assistance Pilot Program (the Pilot Program) to provide matching funds in order to incentivize employers to contribute to the child care costs of their employees. The Pilot Program shall be established by the Virginia Early Childhood Foundation (the Foundation), which will establish guidelines and procedures deemed necessary for administration of the Pilot Program. The bill provides that the Foundation shall provide an interim report to the General Assembly by September 1, 2027, and a summative report to the General Assembly by September 1, 2028, on the effectiveness and impact of the Pilot Program.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

A BILL to establish the Employee Child Care Assistance Pilot Program.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

§ 1.
As used in §2
:

"
Eligible mixed delivery provider
"
means a child day center or family day home that has been selected or identified to deliver mixed delivery services
through a local agreement with the relevant regional entity established pursuant to subsection D of §

22.1-289.05
of the Code of Virginia.

"
Employer
"
means
an employe
r with at least one employee who works in the Commonwealth in each of 20 or more calendar weeks in the cur
r
ent or preceding calendar year.

"
Small business
"
means an employer with fewer than 50 employees.

2. With such funds as may be appropriated for such purpose pu
rsuant to the general appropriation act, the Employee Child Care Assistance Pilot Program
(the Pilot Program) is established for the purpose of providing mat
c
hing funds in order to incentivize employers to contribute to the child care costs
of their employees. The Pilot Program shall be administered by the Virginia Early Childhood Foundation (the Foundation)
. The Foundation shall establish such guidelines and procedures as it deems necessary for the administration of the Pilot
P
rogram, subject to the following conditions
,
guidel
ines
,
and requirements:

To participate in the Pilot
Program, an employer shall agree to make child care contributions to the eligible mixed delivery provider on behalf of the employee and shall provide any other information deemed necessary by the Foundation
;

To the extent funds are available, the Foundation shall issue a state
m
atch dire
c
tly to an eligible mixed delivery provider
, or to a third-party
administrator
, that has entered into an agreement with a participating employer pursuant to subdivision 1.
The amount of such state match and any associated employee income requirements shall be set forth in the general appropriation act;

3.
Pilot
P
rogram fund
s shall be provided on a first-come, first-served basis, provided, however, that the Foundation is encouraged to prioritize the award of
fun
ds to proposals involving contributions fro
m
sm
all businesses; and

4.
The Foundation may combine the Pilot Program with or incorporate the Pilot Program into any other program or initiative related to the
Mixed Delivery Program.

2. That the Virginia Early Childhood Foundation shall provide an interim report to the General Assembly by September 1, 2027, and a summative report to the General Assembly by September 1, 2028, on the effectiveness and impact of the Employee Child Care Assistance Pilot Program established pursuant to the first enactment of this act.