Local Organizations Awarded Early Learning Funding

By: Spencer Deery

As a member of the Interim Study Committee on Public Health, Behavioral Health, and Human Services, which has been tasked with studying childcare access in Indiana this year, I was happy to see the Parke County Community Foundation receive a $300,000 grant and West Lafayette’s STEAM Academy receive a $500,000 grant to help fund early learning centers for infants and toddlers.

The money was awarded through an Early Learning Indiana program.

The center in Parke County will have 32 seats for infants and toddlers and be operated by Head Start at their current building in Rockville. Many leaders in the county are hard at work to give Parke County parents more childcare options, and I am supporting them in every way I can.

STEAM Academy West Lafayette will add four classrooms, which will allow its capacity to increase by 44 infants and toddlers.

Congratulations to these organizations for receiving these important awards. I know it will benefit many families across Senate District 23.

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Lowering Health Care Costs for Hoosiers

Our state must have a strong, healthy workforce to prosper economically. Unfortunately, Hoosiers spend too much of their hard-earned money on health care.

To help drive costs down, the General Assembly passed a new law during the 2023 legislative session, which institutes “truth in billing” for Indiana’s largest hospital systems to prohibit them from charging higher rates at doctors’ offices. The same law also requires insurers and health plan administrators to share health care claims data with employers who sponsor employee health coverage so employers can negotiate better coverage for their workers.

However, given the complexity of the issue, we need to know more in order to enact policies that ensure Hoosiers can afford high-quality health care services and maintain healthy families. This is why the General Assembly created the new Health Care Cost Oversight Task Force to review and make recommendations concerning:

Indiana’s health care costs in comparison to other states;

Reductions in health care costs to ensure that any cost reductions reach the health care payer;

The availability of value-based care and other health care models that emphasize prevention and cost avoidance; and

The market concentration of health care providers and contributing factors.

Our state is committed to improving health care accessibility for Hoosiers, and Senate Republicans look to further tackle this issue by considering policy that helps address Indiana’s high health care costs. With this work, Indiana can continue to foster healthy communities and pave the road to economic prosperity.

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BMV Sets New Hours

The Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) has set new hours for branches across the state beginning Monday, Oct. 2.

As a reminder, most BMV services like renewing a driver’s license or registering a car can be done online at in.gov/bmv.

There are also BMV Connect kiosks, which allow many services to be done at anytime of the day.

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Indiana Schools Awarded School Safety Grants

The Indiana Department of Homeland Security awarded Indiana schools nearly $30 million in Secured School Safety Grants (SSSG).

During the 2023 legislative session, I was proud to support a $11.2 million increase in SSSG funding in the new 2024-25 state budget and a new law that expands the SSSG program’s qualified expenses to include threat detection equipment, safety-related training costs for staff and renovations to enhance school properties’ physical safety.

Ensuring our students’ safety at school is a top priority, and I will continue to support measures that help Indiana schools maintain a safe environment where students can learn and grow.

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Special Enrollment Period Open for VA Health Care

Veterans who deployed to a combat zone, never enrolled in Veterans Affairs (VA) health care and left active duty between Sept. 11, 2001, and Oct. 1, 2013, are eligible to enroll directly in VA health care without first applying for VA benefits.

Veterans can apply online or in person at their local VA facility through Sept. 30.

– Spencer Deery is an Indiana State Senator serving District 23 which includes Fountain, Parke, Vermillion, Warren and portions of Montgomery and Tippecanoe counties.