Kyleigh Tolman said she's always been in the business of building personal connections.
She grew up in McAlester and now owns a child care center there licensed for 120 children: Klever Kidz Academy. Tolman recently opened a second location licensed for 80 in Wilburton, and both facilities mostly serve families through the state's child care subsidy program administered by Oklahoma Human Services. The program helps eligible low-income families access child care.
DHS assigns programs a quality rating between one and five stars. As one of 1,287 five-star providers in Oklahoma, Tolman receives the highest reimbursement rates for subsidized children. But that could change if her program isn't accredited by Sept. 1.
"The decrease in our star rating from five star to four star, we would look at approximately a 15% decrease in our annual budget," Tolman said.
New Oklahoma Human Services rules approved this year require non-accredited five-star programs to provide proof of an accreditation application submission by April 10 and get nationally accredited by Sept. 1 -- or face a star reduction tied to their reimbursements.
Providers said the timeframe to comply with a process that typically takes one to two years is too short and could cost them thousands.
As of March 3, Oklahoma had 3,220 licensed providers in the state, according to a DHS spokesperson. About two-thirds of programs have subsidy contracts. In January, 32,141 children were engaged in child care through the subsidy program.
Licensed providers participate in the Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS), known as the Stars Program. It awards different ratings to early childhood programs based on their abilities to meet standards related to curriculum, child outcomes and learning environments.
A few years ago, the program moved to a five-star scale from a three-star one. The three-star rating, which was the highest level at the time, required national accreditation. The DHS spokesperson said accreditation "was cost-prohibitive for many providers."
In June 2022, about 300 facilities were three-star, the spokesperson said.
The QRIS Subcommittee developed alternative criteria, creating a pathway to reach the highest levels without accreditation. The new system allowed more providers to attain the highest rating.
Tolman was a two-star, unaccredited program before the change. She had started the accreditation process but said she stopped when Oklahoma rolled out the new stars program. As a five-star facility, she said Klever Kidz Academy can now offer competitive pay and benefits like insurance.
Oklahoma Human Services Director Jeffrey Cartmell said during a House budget hearing that this uptick - alongside the costs of an additional 10,000 children on the subsidy program following a 2019 increase in the eligibility threshold - has "significantly increased the cost to the agency to run the subsidy program."
The agency first proposed rules last year that would have lowered the subsidy eligibility threshold from 85% to 70% of the state median income. Those rules were withdrawn to address budget concerns and allow more time for stakeholder input.
DHS said in a December draft for its new set of rules that original projections "significantly underestimated the number of programs that would reach the highest levels."
"While quality child care is a priority, Oklahoma should maintain the standards in a way that ensures only the highest quality programs reach the highest levels," the draft read. "The administrative process must ensure decisions are made timely when reductions in star quality are necessary."
The DHS spokesperson said emergency rules were chosen as a means to accomplish these new policies because "the standard policy-making process would have taken two years, which would not have best supported the agency's or providers' needs in a timely manner."
Cartmell said in a press release continuing the pandemic-era level of spending is unsustainable without impacts on other services.
"Our costs of our employees have gone up. The food costs have gone up to feed these kids. Our insurance costs have skyrocketed. ... How are we expected to get back to pre-pandemic spending when no one else around us is gonna go back to pre-pandemic spending?" said Aaron Forst, owner of Granny & Dot's Early Childhood Development Center.
Forst's five-star program in Owasso takes about 30 children on subsidy. He said Granny & Dot's was created to serve as many foster children as possible, and families come from neighboring towns to receive care in their facility.
Amid these changes, Forst said his program is trying to decide between getting accredited to maintain current rates or getting a star reduction and taking less subsidy.
"We hate it because we want to help our community. We want to do what we can," Forst said. "But at the same time, we're not helping anybody if we have to shut the doors."
Forst said national accreditation can usually take one to two years. There are nine approved accrediting bodies.
Typically, programs work to meet the specific standards of the accrediting body they choose, and then the agency arranges an onsite verification visit. Some groups are offering accommodations to help providers meet the deadline.
Mattece Mason, the owner and director of Jewel's Place Enrichment Childcare, a five-star child care center in Tulsa, said about 90% of the children she's serving are on subsidy. She said her dream is to send every child on her street off to college.
"It's not just about watching kids. We haven't done that in 20 years," Mason said. "We are trying to help the families develop and provide them resources to really make something great out of their family."
Mason said she is ahead of the game because she has been working toward her national accreditation. She said she might not have gotten accredited if it weren't for a partner of her program - Educare, a nationwide network of birth-to-five schools. She said it partners with smaller centers and child care homes.
She said through the process, she's had support and access to information and curriculums. Still, the process has taken time to achieve. She said the accrediting agency she chose is supposed to come out in the next six months for her monitoring visit.
"I've got great sponsorship," Mason said. "So if I, who have a full staff, great staff and have sponsorship behind me, if it takes me two years, imagine what it's going to take somebody without that."
Mason said support from accrediting bodies is crucial, and she has worked to mentor fellow providers. She doesn't want them to be discouraged.
"The only grievance that I have with the state is not that they don't have the money," Mason said. "You don't think I've been in business 20 years and haven't had the money to do something? ... The grievance that most of the providers that I'm hearing [from have] is that they don't like that the state is trying to liken this to a quality issue."
Oklahoma Human Services conducted full-star reviews of two to five-star programs from May 1 to Aug. 23 last year. The DHS spokesperson said 90% of providers met criteria, while non-compliant programs had serious licensing violations.
However, in the rule draft, DHS notes if this provision and other amendments aren't implemented, the "quality of child care would be negatively impacted," and "families will not have confidence in the star rating system."
"You have a set time frame on here for a reason," Forst said. "So, if we're going to fast-track this thing, you're not ensuring quality. You're trying to get my money."
Janell Wheat and Tammy Maus are board members of the Licensed Child Care Association of Oklahoma. They said amid these new changes, providers are also weathering the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
During the pandemic, Oklahoma child care benefited from multiple sources of federal relief funding supporting several measures, like assistance on copays for families receiving child care subsidies. Wheat said the expiration of these policies has impacted enrollment and programs' ability to keep staff.
Rep. Suzanne Schreiber (D-Tulsa) also said programs have been impacted by a severe flu season, which hurts attendance and their payments.
"That is extremely hard on these providers for all of those things to sort of happen at once," Schreiber said. "And it is causing child cares across the state to shut down, and so we're losing even more spots."
The state's child care subsidy program is mostly funded by federal dollars. Oklahoma Human Services said in its budget hearing the state's contribution is $18 million. Schreiber wants to see that investment go up.
Schreiber has authored a few bills this session addressing child care, including one that would help licensed child care employees access subsidies for child care. The bill's fiscal impact is $11.5 million annually, and she said it will help recruit and retain employees.
"For a very relatively low amount, we can get a really high rate of return," Schreiber said. "So adding a little bit into what the state spends on child care then produces a taxpayer, then produces a business that is reinvesting in the state and then produces families that can live and work in Oklahoma and create a life here."
The DHS spokesperson said due to the end of COVID-era programs and reinstatement of accreditation for five-star programs, it expects to reduce spending on child care in Fiscal Year 2026 to a "sustainable" budget.
The spokesperson said Oklahoma Human Services recognizes concerns raised by providers regarding the accreditation deadline and its potential impact on their ability to serve subsidy families. They said deadlines were set to "ensure a smooth transition while maintaining quality standards."
"Oklahoma Human Services remains committed to working with providers during this transition and encourages programs to reach out for technical assistance, clarification or support as needed," the spokesperson said. "Additionally, the agency will continue to evaluate potential challenges and explore solutions that prioritize both provider sustainability and high-quality care for Oklahoma families."
Asked what would happen if enough facilities get accredited before Sept. 1 but funding is still deemed unsustainable, the DHS spokesperson said Oklahoma Human Services "continuously evaluates budget allocations to ensure sustainable support for quality improvement initiatives."
"If a significant increase in 5-Star programs occurs, funding strategies may be reviewed to align with program goals while maintaining fiscal responsibility," the spokesperson said.
If a program doesn't meet the deadline and faces a reduction, the spokesperson said the child care may reapply once it meets all five-star criteria and has its accreditation approved.
"Timeframes may vary depending on the number of requests; however, we work to get these approved as quickly as possible," the spokesperson said.
For providers like Tolman, reaching accreditation is crucial. She said she's felt frustrated and unheard amid these changes, and that "child care is not valued."
But, she said she's trying to stay optimistic.
"I'm just going to keep going because our community needs us, and our parents need us. These children need us, and they need quality," Tolman said. "So we're just going to keep going."