Some families feel impact of daycare cuts

Published 12:00 am Wednesday, July 16, 2003

Editor’s note: Jessica, a woman interviewed for this story, asked that her real name not be used because of privacy concerns.

By Tim Sturrock, Tribune staff writer

As far as Jessica is concerned, welfare isn’t an option. But she may have to quit her job to take care of her child because she’s no longer eligible for state assistance to pay for daycare that she said she can’t afford on her own.

Email newsletter signup

The Freeborn County Department of Human Services told her that she no longer qualifies for child-care assistance, but she said they told her she qualifies for welfare.

Jessica said she refuses to do that. She wants to be more self-sufficient, but her self-esteem would suffer if she went on welfare; even though she needs a little money from the government, she wants to earn money herself. She said she and her husband have until August to decide what to do &045; that’s when the county will stop giving her assistance.

Jessica is one of about 1,000 parents statewide who will soon find they are ineligible for child-care assistance. Many others will find that their copay is at least double what they were paying for child-care before. It’s the result of legislation passed this spring that cut $86 million over two years from child-care assistance for counties. Many people in the state say the changes will cause poor families to struggle even more and may cause them to turn to welfare, shifting the cost from one program to another.

The cuts, along with new eligibility and copayment guidelines, went into effect statewide this July, although they will be phased in throughout the year. In Freeborn County, about 20 families will be affected starting Aug. 1.

Nearly all of the 200 families receiving child-care assistance in the county will be affected by the cuts, said Barb Cook, case aide for Freeborn County Department of Human Services.

But in Freeborn County there’s more to it. Cook said that her department has already gone $20,000 over budget for this year, so now no new cases are being accepted.

Funding and budget problems have also caused them be more strict on who gets funding and who does not.

She said she the legislature has shifted a lot of money with the intent of saving it. Some parents won’t be able to afford the increase, she said. She said she expects more people to apply for the Minnesota Family Investment Program, an financial assistance program that gives poor families health insurance, food stamps and money. &uot;(The legislature) just took it out of one hand and put it in another.&uot;

She said some families may have to find relatives and friends to help, or parents may have to find jobs with opposite shifts, which may be difficult in today’s economy.

Mary Gillman said that five of the 14 families that use her Kids &uot;R&uot; Us Daycare need assistance to pay. She said the changes may reverse some families’ struggle toward financial independence.

&uot;It’s a vicious circle for these parents that are trying to get off the welfare system. They find it very difficult if they don’t have the help. They can’t afford (daycare) if they have more than one child,&uot; she said.

She said many of the families that use her daycare have been left hanging; they’re not sure whether they’ll qualify for assistance, or how much more they’ll have to pay.

And for Jessica, she’s not sure what she and her husband will do, but said she won’t go on welfare.

(Contact Tim Sturrock at tim.sturrock @albertleatribune.com or 379-3438.)