BOSTON - The federal stimulus law will provide Massachusetts with $23.9 million for child care for low-income people and about $4 million for vaccines for poor children, Vice President Joseph R. Biden said on Thursday.
In a press release, Biden said Massachusetts would receive $23.9 million to provide child care for parents who work or are enrolled in education or training programs. The money will support a range of providers including day care centers and programs based in homes.
Joan B. Kagan, president of Square One, a private, nonprofit organization whose services include day care centers, said she was delighted to hear about the stimulus money for child care.
"This is definitely going to help," she said.
Kagan said 8,000 children are on a state waiting list for subsidies for early education and child care.
If the $787 billion stimulus law creates jobs, then the government needs to provide child care for parents who take many of those jobs, Kagan said.
Jonathan E. Palumbo, a spokesman for the state Department of Education, declined comment on the $23.9 million in federal stimulus money for child care for low-income people. Palumbo said the state needs to review the announcement and wait for guidance on allocating and spending the money.
The $23.9 million comes from the "Child Care and Development Fund," the primary federal program devoted to child care services and quality for people in poverty who meet eligibility requirements. Nearly $2 billion in federal stimulus money was provided to all states under the program.
"Parents are worried about finding a job or keeping the job they have and they shouldn't have to worry about affording quality child care," Biden said in a statement.
Massachusetts will also receive $4.2 million for vaccines for the flu and other diseases. A total of $300 million from the stimulus law will go to all states for vaccines.
This money could also be used to support public information campaigns about vaccines.
John M. Auerbach, commissioner of the state Department of Public Health, which oversees financing for vaccines, said the state is grateful for the federal stimulus money.