- Return of child-care funds may be too late, By Barbara Anderson, February 2, 2011, Fresno Bee: “California could have a plan this week to restore child-care subsidies that help parents keep working and stay off welfare. But the fix may come too late for some Fresno County families. The subsidies, known as CalWorks Stage 3, serve California families who have moved off welfare cash aid and into the work force but whose incomes remain too low for them to afford the full cost of child care. About 55,000 children are served. Former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger cut the $256 million program in October to help the state with a gaping budget hole. A court fight delayed the cut-off, originally set for November, until Jan. 1. Gov. Jerry Brown has proposed reinstating the subsidies — with cutbacks — by April. And Assembly Speaker John Pérez, D-Los Angeles, has asked the Department of Education to find money for the program until then. The program cost $30 million a month in state general funds when it was fully funded…”
- Child-care centers feel pushback from cuts, By Kevin Duggan, January 31, 2011, Loveland Connection: “Tight county and state budgets are translating to tough times for child-care facilities in Larimer County and the families that use them. In anticipation of a possible cut in state support for its Child Care Assistance Program, or CCAP, the county is tightening its eligibility requirements for the program and reducing funding it will direct to child-care centers that accept the program’s clients. As of July 1, the eligibility level for the program will be changed from 185 percent of the federal poverty level to 150 percent. The move is expected to save the county about $456,000, said Laura Sartor, deputy division manager for benefits planning with the county’s Department of Human Services. But it also will mean the end of subsidized care for 80 families and 128 children. For a single mother with one child, 150 percent of the poverty level equates to $1,821 a month – or a wage of $10.50 an hour…”
Poverty-related issues in the news, from the Institute for Research on Poverty