EXCERPT FROM: Sussex Countian
By Doug Denison
Dover, Del. — A plan to save money in the state’s Division of Social Services by reducing child care subsidies to needy families drew criticism from legislators and the public at a hearing before the General Assembly’s Joint Finance Committee March 3.
Division head Elaine Archangelo said the $377,100 cut proposed in Gov. Jack Markell’s fiscal year 2011 budget reflects the fact fewer families are qualifying for child care aid.
The number of families who receive “Purchase of Care” payments to offset their daycare costs has remained relatively steady over the last two years and the division has noticed a slight drop in participants through the first months of 2010, Archangelo said.
Accordingly, the division adjusted its budget to account for the shrinking demand.
Rep. John A. Kowalko, D-Newark South, called the plan short-sighted, since many parents who once qualified for the aid payments have dropped out of eligibility after losing their jobs.
The unemployment figures have skewed the figures, he said, and when the economy improves and those ineligible parents get jobs, they’ll need the child care reimbursements.
“When people go back to work, child care must be there for them,” he said. “This is an economic issue that requires close scrutiny.”
Child care providers also expressed disagreement with the proposal.
Kathy Moore, who runs an early child care education program at Sussex Tech High School in Georgetown, said the program already doesn’t have the resources to adequately serve families who are hovering below the poverty level.
“The current system isn’t working for all children in Delaware. Not even for those in the most at-risk category,” she said. “At the very least, you could keep the budget where it is.”
Kowalko suggested the division use the money it says it doesn’t need to increase the level of reimbursement it provides to families in the program.