KENTUCKY YOUTH ADVOCATES - PRESS RELEASE

September 23 , 2008

For Immediate Release: Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Contact: Lacey McNary

502-895-8167 ext 117 (office)

502-419-7335 (cell)

Opportunities Identified to Improve Kentucky Child Care Policies:

50 State Child Care Study Finds Kentucky Trailing

(Jeffersontown, KY) Child care subsidies allow low-income parents to work while ensuring children are cared for and educated in a safe environment. However, low-income parents in Kentucky who receive child care subsidies are still paying very high co-payment rates, and the state’s eligibility level is among the country’s lowest. These policies severely limit the number of families who can receive this much needed support.

“Child care is a vital necessity for many Kentucky families. To support working families and give children a strong start, child care must be affordable and of good quality.” said Lacey McNary, Deputy Director of Kentucky Youth Advocates. 

The information comes from a comprehensive analysis, State Child Care Assistance Policies 2008: Too Little Progress for Children and Families, released today by the National Women’s Law Center. The report can be also be found on Kentucky Youth Advocates website: www.kyyouth.org.

The analysis compares all 50 states’ child care assistance policies in 2008 to 2007 and 2001 in four policy areas: reimbursement rates for providers, income eligibility, waiting lists for assistance and copayment requirements. The analysis closely examines these policy areas because they determine the quantity and caliber of choices parents have for child care, how many low-income families who need child care assistance qualify, and how affordable child care is for families receiving assistance.

“Child care helps children, families, and communities prosper.  It helps children learn and develop skills they need to succeed in school and in life. It is a basic that helps families get ahead by giving parents the support and peace of mind they need to be productive at work,” said Nancy Duff Campbell, Co-President of the National Women’s Law Center.

The primary source of funding for child care assistance comes to the states from the federal government – either through the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) program or the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant.  Both of these programs have been insufficiently funded; in the case of CCDBG, for example, the FY 2008 funding level is below the FY 2002 funding level after adjusting for inflation. 

This has a significant impact on states’ ability to fund child care programs.  According to the Bush Administration, with no increase in funding, 200,000 children are expected to lose child care assistance between 2007 and 2009 nationwide.  Furthermore, many of the states currently behind in their policies are now entering a period where a difficult economic and budget outlook could make things even worse.  Kentucky is no exception.

Reimbursement Rates

The federal government recommends that states set their child care provider reimbursement rates at the 75th percentile of current market rates, which effectively allows families to access three-quarters of the child care providers in their communities. 

Though Kentucky reimbursed providers at the recommended levels in 2001, the Commonwealth currently falls short. Kentucky has set its reimbursement rates at 68 percent of the 2005 price for child care, according to the study.

Low reimbursement rates make it difficult for families to obtain high-quality child care, and they also make it harder for providers to keep their doors open, retain qualified staff or acquire the supplies necessary to promote children’s learning.

Parental Copayments for Child Care

Copayment policies are important: If they are too high, families may have difficulty covering them or may be discouraged from participating in the child care assistance program at all.

A family of three in Kentucky receiving child care assistance with an income of $17,600 a year (100 percent of the 2008 federal poverty level) would pay a copayment equal to 8 percent of its income, or $121 a month. This is more than the nationwide average spent on child care (6.4 percent of income) among families who pay for child care, with and without payment assistance. In addition to this required copayment, a parent receiving child care assistance may be asked by their child care provider to cover any shortfall between what the provider charges and the state’s reimbursement rate.

Income Eligibility to Receive Child Care Subsidies

A family’s ability to obtain child care assistance depends on a state’s income eligibility limits, including whether a state makes annual adjustments to eligibility limits for inflation so that families do not become ineligible for assistance simply because of small pay increases that barely cover the rising cost of basic living expenses.

Kentucky’s ranks among the bottom quarter of states on income eligibility to qualify for child care assistance – $25,746 for a family of three (146 percent of the 2008 federal poverty level) as of February 2008. Kentucky again has fallen from 2001 levels, where families who earned 165 percent of the federal poverty level were eligible for subsidies.

“In tough economic times, policy makers talk about economic stimulus packages for businesses.  How about an economic stimulus package for children and families.  Thoughtful improvements to the child care system are very real ways to help family pocketbooks and children’s futures.  Instead of bailing out wall street, increased support for child care just might bail out some of Kentucky’s families looking at hard times of their own,” comments Terry Brooks, Executive Director of Kentucky Youth Advocates.

 “High-quality child care not only helps parents work and support their families, it ensures that young children receive the early learning experiences they need to start school ready to succeed and that older children have nurturing places to go after school,” said Helen Blank, NWLC Director of Leadership and Public Policy and co-author of the report. “When America supports child care, we encourage children, families and our nation to reach their full potential.”

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The National Women's Law Center is a non-profit organization that has been working since 1972 to advance and protect women's legal rights.  The Center focuses on major policy areas of importance to women and their families including economic security, education, employment and health, with special attention given to the concerns of low-income women.  For more information on the Center, visit:  www.nwlc.org.

Kentucky Youth Advocates is a non-partisan, non-profit, children's advocacy organization. KYA represents a voice for Kentucky's most precious asset – its youth.  We believe that Kentucky's youth deserve the opportunities and resources necessary to ensure their productive development and health.