EXCERPT FROM: Brattleboro Reformer
By Howard Weiss-Tisman
BRATTLEBORO -- State and local child care officials will be in town tonight to talk about changes in Vermont’s financial assistance program.
A special information session is planned for between 6 and 8 p.m., at the Marlboro Graduate Center, to explain the new plan that restructures the Child Care Assistance Program, and aligns Vermont’s rates and eligibility with federal guidelines.
"This means more families will be eligible for financial assistance and child care providers should see an increase in the amount of money they get reimbursed from the state," Windham Child Care Association Executive Director Sadie Fischesser said. "This is a real benefit."
Vermont’s child care subsidy level has been frozen at the 2000 federal guideline and child care advocates have been trying to get the Legislature to raise the levels so low-income families get more assistance.
The Joint Fiscal Committee unanimously approved the new plan in September and the new rates will go into effect on Jan. 3, 2010.
"A lot of people have been working a long time on this," said Fischesser. "This comes at a time when so many families are struggling. The timing is very good."
The changes increase the upper income level from about 85 percent of 2000 state median income to 200 percent of the 2009 level.
An average family can now make $300 more per month and still be considered to receive assistance for child care.
The new program also increases the assistance child care centers receive and ties aid to the state rating system, rewarding centers that take part in the program and invest in upgrades.
The meeting in Brattleboro today is one of a series of sessions being held around the state to inform providers, families and social service workers about the changes.