All together now, Hip Hip Hurray! Hip Hip Hurray! After more than four months of negotiations and stalemates, the state budget was signed into law late Wednesday night (11/17/99). This followed several days of vetoes (reductions in funding) by Governor Cellucci, and several more veto overrides by the Legislature. The great news is that the final budget contains an increase of $34M in the Income-Eligible Child Care program, $25M in the Community Partnerships for Children program and $5.3M in School-Age child care. These increases mean that many more families will move off waitlists and into affordable licensed child care settings. In addition, the final budget also included $5.2M for rate increases in Regions I and V and a doubling of the Child Dependent Care Tax Credit (available to all working families) from $1800 for 1 child and $2400 for 2 or more to $3600 for 1 child and $7200 for 2 or more in 2001 and $4800 for 1 child and $9600 for 2 or more in 2002. Below you will find a chart with the final funding levels. Programs with an (*) were reduced by the Governor’s vetoes or had administrative changes made to them (see below for more details).

FY2000 Massachusetts Child Care Budget
(Numbers are in millions)

Where did the Governor make changes?

• Employment Support Program (ESP) Child Care was funded by Conference Committee at $99.24M but was reduced to $94.7M.
• Income Eligible Child Care was funding by Conference Committee at $158.90 but was reduced by $4.4M to $154.5M. Language was included which mandates that by January 2000 the Office of Child Care Services must report how many families will move off the waitlist based on this year’s increase. Also, it was mandated that 50% of the families who will move off because of this increase do so by January 1, 2000.
• Community Partnerships was funding by Conference Committee at $119.7M but was reduced to $109.6M. Language was also included that earmarks $10M of the increase for 3 & 4 year old children who are on the OCCS waitlist.
• In-Home Child Care was funded by Conference Committee at $19.07M but was reduced by the Governor by $3.3M.
• The Trial Court Child Care Program was funded by Conference Committee at $1.9M but was reduced by the Governor by $240,000.

Are you confused about what’s been happening the past few weeks with the budget? Here’s a brief overview.

November 10^th – Conference Committee released it’s budget with substantial increases for early care and education programs, including a $56.95M increase for Income Eligible Child Care, $34.70M for Community Partnerships for Children, and $5.29M for School Age Child Care. Conference Committee delivered the budget to the Governor for approval or veto.

 November 16^th – Governor Cellucci announced his vetoes for FY2000 funding, including a reduction of $10M in Community Partnerships for Children, $4.4M in Income Eligible, and $3.27M in the In-Home Program. Governor delivered his veto package to the House and Senate for approval or veto override.

November 17^th – Both the House and Senate finished their veto overrides and restored funding for many items, including local aid to school systems, and all day Kindergarten. Governor’s changes to Income Eligible, Community Partnerships for Children and In-Home Child Care remained in place. BUDGET FOR FY2000 IS PASSED.

For more information about this update or to join PACCT, please contact CCRC at (617) 547-1063 ext. 271.

Working parents need to have a good relationship with their child’s caregiver/teacher. Here’s how to make a positive effort in communicating:

• Take the lead in beginning conversations and sharing information.
• Keep the caregiver/teacher informed about unusual things in your child’s life, such as sleep problems, family illness, divorce, etc.
• Remember that your child’s caregiver/teacher is a person too. Talk to her about personal interests and other things which make her unique.
• Ask questions, share concerns, and raise issues when they first develop.
• Work to solve problems together by planning solutions you can use both at home and in child care/school. Let the child know you are operating as a team.
• Expect to share negative as well as positive comments about behavior. No child is perfect!

The key to communicating with your child’s caregiver/teacher is to form a partnership for the benefit of your child.

*courtesy of the Danville Group, 1996.

State Rates Vary From 4 to 24 Percent, Mass Right in the Middle

Health and Human Services Secretary Donna E. Shalala announced a new report in late October which shows that only 10 percent of children who were eligible for federal child care assistance in 1998 received it. The report, "Access to Child Care for Low-Income Working Families," estimates that 14.7 million children in low-income families were eligible to receive a subsidy under federal income limits in 1998, but only 1.5 million children received assistance. The percentage of children helped ranged from a low of 4 percent in Mississippi to a high of 24 percent in West Virginia with Massachusetts landing smack in the middle at 15 percent.

According to the report, a family of three earning $15,000 without child care assistance pays between 24 percent and 45 percent of their income on child care. If these same families receives child care subsidies, they only need to spend between 1 percent and 7 percent of their income on child care.

"This timely and important report provides conclusive evidence that millions of low-income parents eligible for child care assistance are not getting the critical support they need to stay employed," said Secretary Shalala. "Bipartisan support for a wise and worthwhile investment in child care for America's working families is growing, but the clock is ticking for Congress to act. For working parents and their children, there's not a moment to lose."

Recent studies of Florida and North Carolina have found that increased child care subsidies result in increased employment rates and earnings for low-income working families. Conversely, parents who wait for child care support are seven times more likely to rely on public assistance than employed parents who receive a subsidy.

Under the 1996 welfare law that consolidated most federal child care funding, states could serve 14.7 million children at the federal limit of 85 percent of the state median income level. However, most states have set their income caps well below the ceiling. There were approximately 10 million children eligible under state-set limits in 1998, of whom only 15 percent were served. At the federal maximum limit, 27 states are serving less than 10 percent of eligible children, with Massachusetts tying at sixth place in those states serving over 10 percent.

Even though states are continuing to use all the federal funds available to them for child care, large numbers of children still go unserved. In fiscal year 1998, states spent $3.5 billion in federal funds, including transfers from their welfare block grant, and spent $1.6 billion from their own funds. In 1998, the number of children served rose to 1.5 million, up from 1.25 million in 1997. These numbers cover children served by the Child Care and Development Block Grant, created by the 1996 welfare reform law.

"Recent studies conclude that child care subsidies make a difference for parents trying to get and keep a job," said Olivia A. Golden, HHS assistant secretary for children and families. "If we are to keep the promise to families leaving welfare, or struggling to avoid welfare in the first place, then we must increase the funds for child care to help them succeed at work and at home."

Never before has the American economy been this strong and the need for affordable child care this critical, Golden noted. With the unemployment rate at 4.2 percent, a 30-year low, many employers are straining to find workers. Meanwhile more parents are entering the work force. In 1996, 3 out of 4 mothers with children between 6 and 17 were working compared to 1in 4 mothers in 1965. Two-thirds of mothers with children under six now work.

The President's balanced budget includes an historic initiative to improve child care for America's working families. The initiative proposes over $19 billion over five years for child care - the single largest investment in child care in this country's history. The proposal would expand assistance through the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) for working families, enhance child care tax credits, and give communities the resources to improve the quality of care for children across income levels.

The report also notes that many parents are working non-traditional shifts. These parents face even more complicated challenges, as availability of child care for those non-day shifts is extremely limited. Statistics further report that the proportion of low income employed parents working non-traditional shifts is greater than higher income parents. There are 4.2 million preschool children with mothers who work non-day shifts, representing 4 out of 10 preschoolers overall, and 52 percent of preschoolers from families with incomes below 200 percent of poverty.

The report contains previously released summaries of studies that describe the importance of quality child care and its impacts on the learning and social development of children. Several recent studies reveal that high quality child care programs result in higher test scores, better preparedness for school and reduced behavioral problems in children.

The full report is available on the Internet at: http://www.acf.dhhs.gov/news. A table of state by state numbers is available at: http://www.dhhs.gov/news/press/1999pres/991019.pdf (requires free Adobe Acrobat Reader software).

  Back to top