(WAVE/WKYT) – Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library of Kentucky says the latest version of the state budget could force the program to shut down.
Louisville lawmakers announced plans to expand the Imagination Library across Kentucky on Thursday. If passed, lawmakers say it could help some of the commonwealth’s most vulnerable families.
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is a program that offers free, age-appropriate books to children from birth to age five, mailing more than 8 million books to Kentucky children to date.
Senate Joint Resolution 54 has now advanced to the full House.
The measure encourages Kentucky libraries and state agencies to collaborate and help increase enrollment in the program.
The resolution is sponsored by Louisville Senator Cassie Chambers Armstrong, who believes it will help make the program more accessible for Kentucky’s children.
“The cabinet could automatically enroll children in foster care,” Sen. Armstrong said. “We think there’s about 2,000 eligible children in foster care that are not currently enrolled, and the cabinet could do that in a way that protects confidentiality while making sure that children are enrolled in that program.”
Senator Armstrong also believes the Resolution will boost numbers in communities where the program doesn’t see a lot of participation.
A statement from Imagination Library, however, says the latest version of the Kentucky state budget could wipe out the program altogether.
According to the statement, each county in the commonwealth has a partner who enrolls children into the program and raises money to pay for their books themselves. Support from the singer and the foundation brings the cost per book down to $3, but the amount can still be difficult for local partners to raise.
State funding was added in 2021 to match partners dollar-for-dollar.
“With the state match in place, the program quickly expanded across the Commonwealth, and today every child in Kentucky is eligible to receive books until their 5th birthday,” the statement said. “Educators, parents, and lawmakers of both parties have consistently celebrated the success of the program, which now delivers books to more than 138,000 kids across the Commonwealth each month.”
The organization says the latest version of Kentucky’s primary budget bill under consideration would change that. Though House Bill 500, as passed, provides the full $2.5 million that would fund the dollar-for-dollar match, the bill would change the formula so that the state would only cover one-third of the cost of the books.
Imagination Library of Kentucky Executive Director Libby Suttles says the change would keep thousands of dollars from reaching local programs.
“When we surveyed our local program partners, more than 80 percent said they’d expect to shut down in less than a year under this new funding formula,” said Libby Suttles, Executive Director of Imagination Library of Kentucky. “With so much focus on kindergarten readiness, we don’t understand why anyone would shut down a program that’s proven to work, especially when it doesn’t free up any money in the budget.”
The bill is set to head back to the Kentucky House, where leaders of both parties will work to resolve differences between their respective versions of the bill.