Child care operators are complaining about Mississippi's plan to install fingerprint scanners to check in and out children who benefit from federally-subsidized vouchers.

Operators say it's another effort to cut payments when they already feel squeezed. They say parents may pull their children out because of the hassle or because they fear having their finger scanned.

The state Department of Human Services was not invited to a legislative hearing Wednesday when complaints were aired.

DHS Director Ricky Berry writes in a letter to state Sen. Albert Butler that the system will cut costs and stop centers from being paid when children aren't there.

Butler, a Port Gibson Democrat, says he plans another meeting to give the department a say, and wants administrators to hold a public hearing on the rules.