Washington childcare workers worried about losing crucial behavioral health support for kids

SPOKANE, Wash. — Some of eastern Washington’s youngest learners are at risk of losing a key mental health program, due to potential state and federal funding cuts.

The ‘Holding Hope‘ program provides mental health professionals to classrooms to act as a liaison between students, teachers and families to help create a better environment for a child who is struggling.

Childcare workers and mental health professionals said cutting funding to the program could leave teachers and families without crucial behavioral health support.

“We’re in a behavioral health crisis in childcare,” said Kerra Bower, owner of Little Scholars, a daycare in Spokane. “This is throwing chairs across the classroom, destroying entire rooms, biting until the skin breaks, cursing out teachers and attacking other children.”

Deidre Darling-Shae, a mental health consultant with Community Minded Enterprises, an agency managing this mental health consultant service for 600 childcare facilities in Eastern Washington, said the possibility of losing the program is alarming.

“It feels scary to think teachers will be left without that support, and even parents too,” Darling-Shae said.

Community Minded Enterprises currently employs four consultants, but two positions are at risk as the agency faces a possible 50% cut in state funding and the loss of federal support.

“So now we’re going to, instead of building, have to retreat,” said CME CEO John Hindman.

Bower, who also runs a mental health program, said she hopes increased recognition of the issue will lead to consistent local funding.

“[I’d like to see] a stand-alone mental and behavioral health program specifically for early childhood education.”