LEGISLATOR MYERS PUSHES THROUGH INCREASED ACCESS TO QUALITY CHILDCARE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 10, 2006
Contact: Judy Myers, (914) 995-7948
County Legislator Judy Myers (D,I,WF- Larchmont), Chair of the Family, Health and Human Services Committee, today announced a program that will provide quality child care to an underserved group of parents--- working parents whose income makes them ineligible for public subsidies but who still can’t afford the high cost of quality day care.
“We have earmarked $250,000 to expand the availability of subsidized day care to working parents whose incomes are barely above the subsidy threshold,” said Myers. “Although our County’s child care eligibility standards are generous compared to other New York counties and we have decreased a parent’s co-payment from 33% to 20% over the last two budget cycles, the $10,000 per year cost of child care is out of reach for many hard working families.”
Myers said Westchester’s higher than average cost-of-living is largely to blame for leaving parents with insufficient funds to afford quality child care. “Of the 3,000 existing County subsidized day care slots in quality regulated facilities, about 1,000 slots are unfilled,” said Myers. “The experts have advised us that the vacancy rate is largely attributable not to the lack of need for quality day care but because parents who need it can’t afford it. We’re talking about parents whose incomes may fall just beyond the eligibility threshold. Those are the parents we’re targeting with this particular program.”
The results of an extensive research study to assess the County’s day care needs will not be available until the end of this year. “In the meantime, we don’t need to wait for the results of the study to know what is obvious to the experts in the field--- the current income threshold is too restrictive.”
Myers pointed out that the funding for this program and for the study was included in the 2006 County budget.
“I believe that quality child care is an essential piece of the working family puzzle and must be made accessible,” said Myers. “While we wait for the research to be completed, we should begin to provide families who are just barely above the subsidy threshold with the boost they need to give their kids the quality child care they need and deserve.”
The Child Care Council of Westchester County, in a contractual agreement with the Department of Social Services, will begin to implement the new program within the next couple of months.
