Few new families sign up for Oregon aid child care
Wednesday, April 9, 2008 10:21 AM PDT
SALEM — Although the Legislature has put $35 million extra into child-care subsidies, and made them easier to get, Oregon’s working families haven’t been rushing to sign up.
About 9,900 families are enrolled in the Employment Related Day Care program.
More than 500 new families signed up in February. But that’s well short of the 3,000 families the Department of Human Services predicted would be added to the program by July 1, 2009.
Democratic Rep. Tina Kotek of Portland said Oregon’s child-care subsidy had lagged behind most other states for more than a decade.
Parents were either forced to pay more than they could reasonably afford, or decide they couldn’t go to work, or cobble together some other solution, Kotek said.
‘‘We know access to affordable child care is one the stress factors that can lead to abuse and neglect and as people come off of (welfare) they need to have child care to keep a job,’’ she said.
Now a family of two can earn $2,159 a month before taxes and still qualify.
Families of three can earn as much as $2,714, while families of four can earn $3,268. Lisa Fackler, a 29-year-old mother of two, said the increased subsidy reduced her out-of-pocket cost for day care for 10-year-old Risha and 3-year-old Aaron at the YMCA from $392 in September to $25 the next month.
Fackler received help with her day-care costs from the state, the Y and others before the change. But the increased state subsidy made the expense easier to afford while she pursues a bachelor’s degree at Portland State University and works part time.
‘‘It’s critical,’’ she says.
The amount of the subsidy depends on how much a family earns, type of care and the age of the children.
Once a family is qualified, the dollars flow from the state directly to the day-care provider.
A child-care center must be licensed by the state to participate. Or caregivers must clear criminal background and child protective services checks.
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Information from: The Oregonian, http://www.oregonlive.com
