Childcare Cuts Threaten Homelessness for Mother and Son
ANDERSON, Ind. (WISH) — A working mother told News 8 Thursday she and her son could become homeless if she is unable to pay for childcare.
Madison Lingle works full-time as a nursing assistant for a major hospital corporation, and she is enrolled in an accelerated nursing program. She plans to ultimately become a pediatric nurse practitioner. She said the only way she is able to do that is keep her son, Kobe, 3, enrolled in childcare. She told News 8 she has used Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) vouchers to cover Kobe’s childcare costs for almost his entire life.
That’s about to change. Effective Oct. 5, the Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA) cut the reimbursement rates it pays out to child care providers, which in turn allow providers to provide discounted child care services. FSSA officials said this is because COVID-era relief funding that allowed the program to expand has run out. Officials told News 8 their only choices were to either reduce the reimbursement rates or cut vouchers entirely.
Under the rate change, Lingle said she would have to start paying $150 per week for Kobe’s childcare, which was free until now thanks to the vouchers. That’s still a significant discount compared to the $350 per week she would have to pay if she had no assistance, but Lingle said she doesn’t have the finances to cover any amount on her own.
“If I had to pay even, like $30 a week, I don’t think I would be able to because I only make $17 an hour, and that is only enough to pay for my gas and my car payment to take me to work and school,” Lingle said.
Hooligan’s Learning Academy owner Traelynn Mikel said right now, she is not raising fees for any of the parents who send children to her child care center using CCDF vouchers. She said she will avoid doing so as long as she can, but it’s not sustainable long-term. Mikel said her new reimbursement rates are lower than they were even before the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent surge in relief spending.
“We are taking a big cut just because we serve so many school-agers,” Mikel said. “We’re kind of hit and miss on where the funding cuts are hitting us.”
Mikel said parents in Lingle’s situation should continue to lobby officials and state lawmakers to change the policy.
Lingle said she believes there’s a misconception people use CCDF vouchers simply to send their children to free daycare while they sit at home. She said the vouchers actually benefit the economy because they allow people like her to work and go to school.
Lingle said she doesn’t have any resources to fall back on without CCDF vouchers. She said Kobe’s father is not involved in his life and her parents’ ability to support her is very limited.
“Some people have asked me what my plan is if it goes away, and I don’t have one because I wouldn’t have anything,” Lingle said. “My son and I would be in a shelter, like a homeless shelter. Honestly, if I didn’t have CCDF, I don’t really know what we would do.”
News 8 asked FSSA officials if they might revisit the rate cut depending on how things go financially. They said that they are monitoring the situation.
Childcare Cuts Threaten Homelessness for Mother and Son was originally published on wibc.com
