Morrisey administration will expand childcare subsidy eligibility to include parents with LLCs

West Virginia will soon allow eligible parents who operate small businesses through an LLC to qualify for the childcare assistance program.

The Morrisey administration’s change to a long-standing policy comes after West Virginia Watch detailed how the rule prevented low-income mothers with LLCs from accessing childcare.

Parents operating LLCs have been barred from eligibility since 2007, predating the Morrisey administration.

“The policy is being revised to include LLCs as eligible forms of self-employment activity for the childcare subsidy. DoHS expects to complete this change in early December this year,” said Anne Moore, spokesperson for Gov. Patrick Morrisey. 

The state’s childcare assistance program helps working parents find and pay for childcare. Eligible parents — those who are working or furthering their education — pay anywhere from $0 to $13 per day; the state pays the rest of the assistance to participating childcare centers.

More than 11,000 children use the childcare assistance program in West Virginia. 

House Health Chair Evan Worrell, R-Cabell, raised questions about the LLC policy Monday at the state Capitol with Human Services officials. Worrell said constituents have brought the issue to him after losing eligibility due to their LLC under Morrisey. 

“I am just happy to see this being revised, and I think it is very important for working West Virginians. Sometimes people have some very creative minds, and they want to go out and start a business. And I applaud that,” Worrell said in a phone interview.

“The biggest thing I love about West Virginia is our entrepreneurial spirit. We have a lot of entrepreneurs, and so by saying you’re having an LLC, you can’t qualify for a subsidy, I feel like it is the exact opposite of what we should be saying,” he said.

LLCs offer business owners legal protections by separating personal assets from business. 

Families on average spend over $10,000 a year on childcare in West Virginia, making the state’s childcare assistance a lifeline for parents and caregivers.

“I think that the Legislature, the Chamber of Commerce and so many different organizations have said that childcare is a barrier to workforce. So, we shouldn’t then also provide a barrier to that workforce by not allowing you to have an LLC,” Worrell said. 

Worrell wants to review the final language of the childcare subsidy policy change; he hopes it includes some type of language to help parents who lost the childcare subsidy after moving their business into an LLC.

“I will have follow up questions,” Worrell said.

West Virginia’s childcare assistance program is primarily funded through federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families dollars and the Child Care and Development Block Grant.

Morrisey and Human Services officials are currently reviewing the state’s use of TANF funds due to a looming deficit in that federal funding. Issues with TANF funds were linked to Morrisey’s controversial handling of the state’s school clothing voucher program over the summer.

The scrutiny of TANF dollars could prompt changes to the childcare assistance program in 2027, including decreasing eligibility.