Braun emphasizes early childhood education over ‘babysitting’ in facility visit

Title: Braun emphasizes early childhood education over ‘babysitting’ in facility visit URL Source: https://indianacapitalchronicle.com/2026/05/01/braun-emphasizes-early-childhood-education-over-babysitting-in-facility-visit/ Published Time: 2026-05-01T09:45:20+00:00 Markdown Content: Gov. Mike Braun is looking to promote early childhood education services — above mere “babysitting” — as he prepares to make his childcare funding case to lawmakers next year. “They ought to be learning as opposed to just being taken care of,” Braun told reporters on Thursday, and instead of “just having the childcare-slash-babysitting side of it.” He spoke after a tour of a St. Mary’s Early Childhood Center location near downtown Indianapolis. As he walked through bustling classrooms, children aged 3 to 5 drew with colored pencils, rolled out Play-Doh, and dug through a water-filled tub of blocks labeled with shapes. “Do you guys know what a governor is?” Braun asked one group of children. “Yes!” one child answered. Children play with blocks, cups and water at St. Mary’s Early Childhood Center in Indianapolis on Thursday, April 30, 2026. (Photo by Leslie Bonilla Muñiz/Indiana Capital Chronicle) A staffer followed: “Have you ever met one? How about this one right here?” “Yes,” the child replied. “Yes!” “Can you say ‘hi’ to the governor?” the staffer continued, prompting a chorus of greetings and giggles. During a pre-tour meeting with St. Mary’s leaders, Braun said he was visiting “to see who’s doing it best.” Teachers at St. Mary’s are “qualified,” said Executive Director Michelle Radomsky. Educators undergo more than 75 hours of professional development annually — “triple what the requirement is” — and offer a 1-to-7 teacher-child ratio. That development and staffing ratio costs more, Radomsky acknowledged. However, she said, “if we’re creative about it, … it doesn’t have to be an exorbitant cost for us to be able to provide quality for these children.” Radomsky pointed to the TEACH Early Childhood National Center and online professional development learning. Braun said it could be “expensive,” but told reporters, “the good news is our budget is in much better shape than what that faulty forecast indicated.” _A child takes a photo of her fellow classmates and an educator at St. Mary’s Early Childhood Center in Indianapolis on Thursday, April 30, 2026. (Photo by Leslie Bonilla Muñiz/Indiana Capital Chronicle)_ A dismal revenue forecast last April forced state lawmakers to slash more than $2 billion off the biennial budget plan. But a rosier update in December projected the state would bring in about $2.4 billion more than expected, and monthly revenue reports show the state is ahead of predictions. Pressed on how he’d incentivize early childhood education, Braun said he’s “trying to see who’s doing it best, how much it’s going to cost, and how we can get it to the most … families and kids, and with the focus on learning.” Lawmakers are scheduled to return to the Statehouse in January to begin crafting the next budget. #### Need to get in touch? #### Have a news tip? Braun’s Family and Social Services Administration said the governor’s proposed budget will include a $200 million funding request for a low-income childcare voucher program. The agency has already secured State Budget Committee approval for a one-time injection of $200 million to reopen the frozen Child Care and Development Fund program. FSSA projects the funding will allow it to bring 14,000 children off a waitlist that has grown to nearly 37,000 as of March. That would bring enrollment up from 40,000 children to 57,000. But the average life of a CCDF voucher is two and a half years, said Adam Alson, director of FSSA’s Office of Early Childhood and Out-of-School Learning. “The additional 14,000 vouchers that we are going to be enrolling here will have a longer life, and become a obligation of longer length, for the state of Indiana than what our existing funding is,” he said this week, during a quarterly financial reporting meeting. That means the Legislature would need to agree to continue the additional $200 million in order to avoid slashing the program once the one-time aid is spent. Providers have separately struggled after the state cut reimbursement rates for CCDF vouchers. [](https://indianacapitalchronicle.com/2026/05/01/braun-emphasizes-early-childhood-education-over-babysitting-in-facility-visit/) Indiana Gov. Mike Braun visits St. Mary's Early Childhood Center in Indianapolis on Thursday, April 30, 2026. (Photo by Leslie Bonilla Muñiz/Indiana Capital Chronicle) [](https://indianacapitalchronicle.com/2026/05/01/braun-emphasizes-early-childhood-education-over-babysitting-in-facility-visit/) St. Mary's Early Childhood Center Executive Director Michelle Radomsky shows Indiana Gov. Mike Braun art the children have made during a visit on Thursday, April 30, 2026. (Photo by Leslie Bonilla Muñiz/Indiana Capital Chronicle) [](https://indianacapitalchronicle.com/2026/05/01/braun-emphasizes-early-childhood-education-over-babysitting-in-facility-visit/) St. Mary's Early Childhood Center Executive Director Michelle Radomsky shows Indiana Gov. Mike Braun art the children have made during a visit on Thursday, April 30, 2026. (Photo by Leslie Bonilla Muñiz/Indiana Capital Chronicle) [](https://indianacapitalchronicle.com/2026/05/01/braun-emphasizes-early-childhood-education-over-babysitting-in-facility-visit/) A child and educator play with a dollhouse at St. Mary's Early Childhood Center in Indianapolis on Thursday, April 30, 2026. (Photo by Leslie Bonilla Muñiz/Indiana Capital Chronicle) [](https://indianacapitalchronicle.com/2026/05/01/braun-emphasizes-early-childhood-education-over-babysitting-in-facility-visit/) A child leads a staff member and Gov. Mike Braun around during a visit to St. Mary's Early Childhood Center in Indianapolis on Thursday, April 30, 2026. (Photo by Leslie Bonilla Muñiz/Indiana Capital Chronicle) [](https://indianacapitalchronicle.com/2026/05/01/braun-emphasizes-early-childhood-education-over-babysitting-in-facility-visit/) Children work with play-dough at St. Mary's Early Childhood Center in Indianapolis on Thursday, April 30, 2026. (Photo by Leslie Bonilla Muñiz/Indiana Capital Chronicle) [](https://indianacapitalchronicle.com/2026/05/01/braun-emphasizes-early-childhood-education-over-babysitting-in-facility-visit/) A child embraces a fish tank at St. Mary's Early Childhood Center in Indianapolis on Thursday, April 30, 2026. (Photo by Leslie Bonilla Muñiz/Indiana Capital Chronicle) [](https://indianacapitalchronicle.com/2026/05/01/braun-emphasizes-early-childhood-education-over-babysitting-in-facility-visit/) Scissors, colored pencils and glue line a bookshelf at at St. Mary's Early Childhood Center in Indianapolis on Thursday, April 30, 2026. (Photo by Leslie Bonilla Muñiz/Indiana Capital Chronicle) [](https://indianacapitalchronicle.com/2026/05/01/braun-emphasizes-early-childhood-education-over-babysitting-in-facility-visit/) Children play with blocks, cups and water at St. Mary's Early Childhood Center in Indianapolis on Thursday, April 30, 2026. (Photo by Leslie Bonilla Muñiz/Indiana Capital Chronicle) [](https://indianacapitalchronicle.com/2026/05/01/braun-emphasizes-early-childhood-education-over-babysitting-in-facility-visit/) A child takes a photo of her fellow classmates and an educator at St. Mary's Early Childhood Center in Indianapolis on Thursday, April 30, 2026. (Photo by Leslie Bonilla Muñiz/Indiana Capital Chronicle) [](https://indianacapitalchronicle.com/2026/05/01/braun-emphasizes-early-childhood-education-over-babysitting-in-facility-visit/) A child poses with her camera at St. Mary's Early Childhood Center in Indianapolis on Thursday, April 30, 2026. (Photo by Leslie Bonilla Muñiz/Indiana Capital Chronicle) [](https://indianacapitalchronicle.com/2026/05/01/braun-emphasizes-early-childhood-education-over-babysitting-in-facility-visit/) St. Mary's Early Childhood Center Executive Director Michelle Radomsky answers reporter questions on Thursday, April 30, 2026. (Photo by Leslie Bonilla Muñiz/Indiana Capital Chronicle)