Budget cuts hit another state affecting many women and children

In Muskogee, Oklahoma, state budget cuts forced a DHS office to close down that caused 1,500 people to lose its services.  Programs such as Aid to Families with Dependent Children diminished for those who were in dire need of public assistance.  Many mothers were affected since they had depended on DHS for funding to help their children while they went to college.  Because of the office closing, programs run through DHS lost many women as clients.  DHS provides families with items such as food stamps and child care subsidies and without an office providing public assistance, many people, especially single mothers, are left with a heavy financial burden with no where to turn to.

http://www.muskogeephoenix.com/local/local_story_056002840.html

Should the federal government put money towards increasing the number of child care subsidies for single mothers?

Should the federal government put money towards increasing the number of child care subsidies for single mothers?

Many states around the country are losing funds for child care subsidies that help single mothers have the ability to afford daycare.  For some states, the subsidies are becoming too expensive for tax payers, so budget cuts are going towards daycare.  By July, many single mothers will be left without daycare, forcing some to lose their jobs.  The governor of Oregon, Ted Kulongoski, is proposing a drastic budget cut for July 2010 that will cause over a thousand children to be out of daycare and hundreds of single mothers will be left with a heavy financial burden.

July 2010 Child Care Cuts

This article done by Ruth Liao is a journalistic source that comes from an online newspaper called the Statesman Journal.  She talks about how in Oregon, by July 2010 there will be a large budget cut that will cause the amount of child care subsidies to be decreased by about half.  Also by July, qualifications for the subsidies will be changed so that fewer families will be able to receive them in order to afford child care.  She interviews a woman named Rhonda Prodzinski who is the program manager at a daycare, since daycare providers will lose clients because of the cut in child care subsidies.

(February 21, 2010 10:30 am)

New Qualifications for Child Care Subsidies

This website is an institutional source provided by the Oregon Center for Public Policy (OCPP) that provides information about the raised federal poverty line that isn’t benefiting many mothers due to the governor’s budget proposal.  With the raised poverty line, more families are becoming eligible but under the new budget, subsidies will still be limited and will be given to those who found a job after being on public assistance.  Families that are working, but are low-income and aren’t already on public assistance, will not be eligible for the child care subsidies.  The amount of families losing their subsidies has already increased.

(February 21, 2010 10:15 am)

Child care subsidy receivers and daycare providers affected

This is an article from the online newspaper The Bulletin that is a journalistic source.  The author, Hillary Borrud, interviews not only a single mother, but also two child care providers that run small daycares in Oregon that are at risk of losing their businesses.  The single mother, Jessica Parker, is working and has two children, so she depends on the child care subsidies she gets from the state in order to afford daycare.  If the governor’s budget proposal goes through, Parker is at risk of losing daycare and even her home.

(February 21, 2010 10:45 am)

Federal funding for child care subsidies

This government website is an institutional source provided by the U.S. Department of Health and Human services that describes the Child Care and Development Fund which provides money for child care services.  The website mentions how much money the Obama Administration has put forth for child care services through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which is a total of $2 billion to be spread among each state.  The website also breaks down how the money is allocated towards the services and shows that not very much of it goes towards the child care subsidies.

(February 23, 2010 11:55 am)

Not Enough Capitol in Oregon

This article comes from The Oregonian online that is a journalistic source.  The author, Joany Carlin, interviews a single mother named Mary Browne who is working and is one of the many working single mothers who are at risk of losing their child care subsidies.  Overall, about 3,000 families will be losing their subsidies, starting in July 2010.  The governor’s proposal is a $47 million cut from funding for daycare in Oregon.  Without the help of subsidies, many single mothers like Browne will be losing a lot more than just daycare.

(February 23, 2010 11:45 am)

Child Care Subsidies for Low-Income Families

This is a citizen source done by the Associate Professor of the Sociology department at the University of Oregon, Ellen Scott.  She interviewed many single mothers about the child care subsidies they receive.  Most of the mothers explained how much the subsidies have helped them financially and without public assistance for daycare, they wouldn’t be able to work.  Many of the single mothers also explained how they would lose everything they had if they didn’t receive public assistance, especially assistance with child care since daycare costs over $1,000 per month.

(February 23, 2010 12:30 pm)

Child Care Providers Lose Clients

This is a journalistic source that comes from The Register Guard and is primarily about a woman named Gina Rovier who runs her own day care, but is also a single mother.  She only has one client who is low-income and due to the risk of Oregon’s budget cut, Rovier is at risk for losing her business.  If Rovier loses her only client because of the loss of child care subsidies, she will lose her source of income.  She would then have to look for a different a job and find a daycare provider for her child, which won’t be easy since there won’t be child care subsidies available to her.

-Francis Sanchez

This was an interview that is a citizen source that was done on February 12, 2010.  Francis Sanchez is a working, single mother of two children who started receiving child care subsidies about three months ago.  Because she works full time she gets less hours paid for by the state for daycare, which is a constant struggle for her.  She only receives $100 from the state of Oregon for both of her kids, which isn’t enough help since the daycare co-payment alone is $350.  Sanchez provides first-hand experience as to what it is like being on public assistance for day care and being one of many families who are at risk of losing the financial help.

(February 12, 2010 12:10 pm)

-Denise G.

This was an interview that was done on February 2, 2010 that is a citizen source.  Denise is a single mother who has a full time job and a daughter.  Even with the full time job Denise is low-income and depends on her child care subsidy to put her daughter in daycare.  She recently had to pull her daughter out of day care because she didn’t get the vouchers she needed from the Department of Human Services in time to give to the day care center.  She ended being stuck with over $600 of debt that she owed to the day care facility.  She is a prime example of the child care subsidy program failing her.

(February 2, 2010 4:35)

Many mothers in Buffalo, NY protest against cuts in daycare subsidies

On February 9, 2010, many mothers and child care workers protested against the massive cuts in child care subsidies.  According to Buffalo’s county executive and his administration, the child care subsidies became too expensive for taxpayers.  The subsidies made it possible for many mothers to afford daycare, but now many mothers are left with no option.  In December of 2009, standards for the subsidies were changed with no notification for the families receiving them, and 10-day notices were given to those losing their subsidies.  Eventually the notices were changed to 30 days, but mothers at the rally protested that 30 days was still not enough time to find another form of daycare.  Mothers also protested that the cuts were causing them to lose their jobs.

Hundreds of families will lose child care subsidies in Erie County, New York

Due to the country’s recession, many families in Erie County, New York will be without day care subsidies due to the state’s low budget.  With a growing number of families in need of public assistance, the state just doesn’t have enough money to give to all low-income families.  It is estimated that about 694 families will be losing their subsidies.  For single mothers, in order to obtain a subsidy, they must ask for child-support from the child’s father instead of asking the state.  Parents, single or not, that are a part of the 694 families are notified 30 days before they actually lose their subsidies.  Single mothers especially, are encouraged to start preparing now for an alternate source for day care.

http://www.buffalonews.com/cityregion/story/941222.html