Hundreds of low-income Larimer County families could be eligible for assistance with their child-care costs next year through a change in county policy.
The Larimer County commissioners last week agreed to raise the income ceiling for eligibility in the Child Care Assistance Program, or CCAP, from 150 percent of the federal poverty level to 185 percent.
The 2007 federal poverty level for a family of three, such as a single mom with two children, is $17,170. The change will take effect Jan. 1.
The change will mean about 371 additional children could be covered by the program, which helps families cover the cost of child care so they may continue to work, said Ginny Riley, director of human services.
The impact of raising the eligibility level will be "huge" for families and child-care centers with CCAP clients, said Debbi Potts, director of Springfield Court Early Childhood Learning Center, 3851 S. Taft Hill Road.
Families will be able to pay less for child care, while centers, such as Springfield Court, won't have to direct as much money toward subsidizing care, she said.
"My concern is that we stay away from a yo-yo effect with the level going up and down all the time," Potts said. "I hope this lasts."
Several families using Springfield Court, which charges on a sliding scale based on income, are likely to be eligible for CCAP under the higher income guidelines, Potts said.
The nonprofit center could save up to $20,000 next year in scholarship costs because of the higher limits.
Linda, a single mother of two who requested that her last name not be used, said her child-care bill at Springfield Court is likely to go down about $150 a month.
"That will go a long way toward paying our food and heating costs," she said.
Raising the eligibility level is likely to cost the county up to $2.5 million a year, Riley said. The money would come from reserve funds built up under the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, or TANF, program.
If the reserves run out, the county probably would go to a waiting list for CCAP rather than lowering eligibility levels, Riley said. In 2003, the income ceiling was dropped from 185 percent of the federal poverty level to 140 percent because of budget problems.
Cutting eligibility levels and knocking families off CCAP rolls was "traumatic" for everyone involved, Riley said, and will be avoided in the future.