what is school readiness?...
by Courtnie Wheeless, Contributing Editor, School Readiness Coordinator
“I can’t work if I don’t have child care. I can’t afford child care when I do work.” Too many of Florida’s families face this problem every day. Low-income working families all over Florida struggle to make ends meet and provide quality child care for their children. Many of these families do not qualify for most types of assistance because they are employed. When these families work, they often do not earn enough to cover the cost of living, let alone the high price of child care. These families qualify for child care assistance, but are placed on long waiting lists because of the funding shortage for these programs.
The SR program helps families become self-sufficient. By assisting families with the cost of child care, families can afford to work. The SR program promotes physical, social, emotional, and intellectual development of children; involves parents as their children’s first teachers; prepares children to become ready for school; and provides parents with information on child development.
The SR program provides child care assistance to families who have children at-risk of school failure, children who have disabilities or special health care needs, children whose parents are migrant farmworkers, and children of low-income working families. To qualify for this program, a family’s income must gross less than 150% of the federal poverty level; for example, a single mother with two children cannot make above $26,400 a year to get assistance.
These families make a co-payment based on the total gross income and their family size. A fee schedule determines the parent fee based on whether their child(ren) need full-time or part-time care and how many children are in care. The child care provider collects the fee, which does not cover registration fees or other fees that a provider may charge. This assistance may be the difference in the ability to pay the light bill for many families.
Unfortunately, in many communities there are no available funds to enroll a child in the SR program. When funds are not available, a child’s family joins others on the wait list. On the wait list, families must verify their contact information, employment, and family size every six (6) months. Once funding becomes available, families are enrolled from the wait list on a first come, first served basis. Many wait lists can be up to one year long.
Although the wait may seem hopeless, the Child Care Resource and Referral (CCR&R) hotline offers some relief to families on the wait list. CCR&R maintains a database of child care providers, some of whom offer reduced rates, sibling discounts, scholarships, or may be willing to negotiate a fee. CCR&R Specialists also help families by referring them to social service agencies that offer temporary assistance for utilities, rent, and other expenses, which may free up money in their budget to help pay for child care.
The SR Program has not been spared from the budget reductions enacted by the Legislature because of the economic downturn; however, through the informational efforts of the Agency for Workforce Innovation and the tireless lobbying efforts of advocacy groups and citizens, the cuts to the SR Program have been small compared to other programs. The Agency is committed to doing all that we can to see that any future funding reductions have as little impact as possible on the early learning services provided to Florida’s children and families.
