A Senate committee unanimously advanced a bill Monday that aims to increase access to child care.

The measure, HB 1253, streamlines licensing for child care providers with multiple locations.

Jennifer Gilland is executive director of compliance and community engagement for the YMCA of Muncie. Her organization has seven locations that offer child care — and under current law, each of them has to have an individual license.

The bill would allow groups like the YMCA to have a new, single “organizational” license.

“This bill supports Indiana’s working families by making it easier for trusted child care providers to grow and meet the increasing demands for early childhood education at times when many communities face child care shortages,” Gilland said.

Join the conversation and sign up for our weekly text group: the Indiana Two-Way. Your comments and questions help us find the answers you need on statewide issues, including our project Civically, Indiana and our 2025 bill tracker.

Janette Stanley, YMCA of Muncie director of youth development, said moving to a single license will greatly reduce unnecessary delays.

“Currently, it takes about three to six months to acquire a single license, when doing it correctly,” Stanley said. “And if we did this, we’d be able to open a new child care facility in a week’s time.”

The bill is headed to the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Brandon is our Statehouse bureau chief. Contact him at bsmith@ipbs.org or follow him on Twitter at @brandonjsmith5.