Sitting low on a child-sized chair, Val Arkoosh spoke with a playful voice as she read the words in the book she held in her hands.
The secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services relayed the tale of a family shopping for a Christmas tree — toting it home, putting it up in their house and decorating it with lights and ornaments.
The handful of children sitting in front of her were rapt, hanging on her every word. One even stood up and walk toward her, smiling as he pointed his tiny finger at a colorful picture of the fully decked out conifer.
The kids were engaged. The kids were learning. The kids were safe.
And their parents were able to head off to work secure in knowing that’s the case.
Three-year-old Cayla helps state Department of Human Services Secretary Dr. Val Arkoosh as she reads to children at the Patton Avenue Learning Center in Oakbrook on Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)
That’s the whole point, that’s why places like the Patton Avenue Learning Center are so important. And it’s why Gov. Josh Shapiro and his administration are dedicated to supporting them, Arkoosh said.
Arkoosh stopped by the learning center in Reading’s Oakbrook Homes to celebrate a $25 million funding boost included in the state’s new 2025-26 budget, which was passed last month.
That money will be used to support Child Care Works programs across the state, which provide subsidized child care that helps low-income families pay their child care fees. It will allow those programs to provide $450 bonuses to employees to increase retention.
In all, Arkoosh said, a total of 55,000 workers across the state will receive bonuses.
“It’s always been a struggle to pay these workers more money because there’s only so much you can charges families,” Arkoosh said.
Any leftover money will be used to recruit new workers, with Arkoosh saying it is estimated there are 3,000 open child care jobs across Pennsylvania.
“Think about what that would mean, to open that many more classrooms,” she said.
State Department of Human Services Secretary Dr. Val Arkoosh, right, talks about the importance of child care and early childhood education at the Patton Avenue Learning Center in Oakbrook on Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. With her, from left, are state Rep. Manny Guzman and state Sen. Judy Schwank. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)
Arkoosh said making sure child care spots are available at high-quality programs, and that those programs are properly staffed, is an investment in both the present and future.
It’s immediate impact is providing parents with a place to safely leave their kids while they go to work.
“People forget that a parent can’t go to work if affordable child care isn’t available for them,” she said, adding that she knows that struggle firsthand as a mother of three.
Looking at the long term, she said, quality child care prepares kids to become students.
“You’re setting up these kids for success for the rest of their lives,” she said, explaining child care programs get kids used to being in a classroom and learning. “It is just the ultimate example of paying it forward.”
Arkoosh said that making affordable child care available is just a piece of Shapiro’s overall commitment to Pennsylvania families that has included championing new tax credits.
“I think Gov. Shapiro has been laser-focused on making it easier for families,” she said.
And, Arkoosh said, she believes the administration’s commitment to families will as it eyes next year’s budget.
State Sen. Judy Schwank, who accompanied Arkoosh on her visit to Reading, said she believes that, too. In particular, she said, she hopes the governor will support finding a way to help families who earn slightly too much to qualify for child care assistance.
“It really throws families into disarray when they fall off that cliff,” she said.