State officials hope a $32 million federal grant will help more Oklahoma families pay for child care.
The money will largely go toward increasing child care subsidies offered by the state. Paul Shinn with the Oklahoma Department of Human Services said over the past 15 years, subsidy use has generally decreased, but not for good reasons.
"That accelerated quite a bit during the recession. Lots of low-income families stopped being low-income families and didn’t need child care. They became zero-income families. And it has rebounded over the last year or two," Shinn said.
With the economy improving and more households having both parents working, more Oklahoma families need help with child care.
Advocates also want state officials to adjust the scale for copayments so single moms aren’t penalized for finding work. Oklahoma Child Care Association Board Member Kathy Cronemiller said the less the state spends on child care subsidies, the more it will spend on child welfare services.
"And if you don’t think it’s connected, you need to come work at my child care center. Because if I have a mother and she can’t pay her copayment, she goes and leaves them with whoever," Cronemiller said. "And when I say, 'whoever,' it’s a boyfriend, it’s a neighbor, nobody that’s licensed. At least if she brings them to our centers they’re in a licensed care, that child’s going to be safe."
Almost 44,000 kids received the subsidy last year, but less than one-third of the state’s 3,728 licensed providers were signed up to accept them.
Oklahoma Partnership for School Readiness Executive Director Debra Anderson said for providers to break even, they need around 100 kids enrolled, which can create different problems in different parts of the state.
"In urban areas, we have problems with waiting lists and probably not enough facilities for families to be able to get in. In rural areas, we just have such a lack of available access at all," Anderson said.
The state must spend at least 70 percent of the federal grant on direct services, like increased child care subsidies.
