skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Wednesday, September 27, 2023

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Progressives call push to change Constitution "risky," Judge rules Donald Trump defrauded banks, insurers while building real estate empire; new report compares ways NY can get cleaner air, help disadvantaged communities.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

House Speaker McCarthy aims to pin a shutdown on White House border policies, President Biden joins a Detroit auto workers picket line and the Supreme Court again tells Alabama to redraw Congressional districts for Black voters.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

An Indigenous project in South Dakota seeks to protect tribal data sovereignty, advocates in North Carolina are pushing back against attacks on public schools, and Arkansas wants the hungriest to have access to more fruits and veggies.

3,000 Waiting for Child Care Subsidies, and the List is Growing

play audio
Play

Tuesday, March 14, 2017   

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – About 3,000 families are already on the wait list for Care 4 Kids, Connecticut's state childcare subsidy, and that number is going up. According to a new report from Connecticut Voices for Children, when the program serving low-income families hit a $33 million budget shortfall last summer, the Office of Early Childhood closed enrollment to all but the poorest families in the state.

Daniel Long, author of the report, and the research director for Connecticut Voices for Children, says that put high-quality child care out of reach for most low-income parents

"Only families that are eligible for TANF would be able to apply," he said. "This would leave families are low-income, that is fifty percent median income or lower, unable to apply for the childcare subsidy."

TANF, or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, is a federal welfare program. The wait list for Care 4 Kids is expected to grow to five thousand by July, plus an additional 2,200 needing summer-only care.

Connecticut has some of the highest childcare costs in the nation. But while last year's budget shortfall was the result of federally-mandated quality improvements, Long says Governor Danell Malloy's proposed budget would only make things worse.

"Instead of addressing the shortfall, the governor's budget proposes additional cuts of $9 million for the 2018 budget and $14-Million for the 2019 fiscal year budget," he added.

Care 4 Kids was intended to provide support for low-income working families.

Long points out that in two-earner households, lack of child care may force one parent to quit their job. And for single working parents the options are extremely limited.

"A number of parents we talked to risk going on to a wide variety of other types of state welfare or federal welfare support which would actually cost the state more money in the long term," explained Long.

Connecticut Voices for Children is urging state lawmakers to explore new sources of revenue to balance the state budget, rather than relying on cuts alone.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
Conservative legal groups are calling for a constitutional convention as early as 2025. (Kasia Biel/Adobestock)

Social Issues

play sound

Progressive groups are speaking out against the idea of a constitutional convention, warning it could be used to impose conservative policies on …


Health and Wellness

play sound

Today is National Gay Men's HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, and Nevada is one of the 10 states with the highest HIV infection rates. In 2021, more than 11,00…

Environment

play sound

The current Farm Bill expires Sept. 30 and with a looming government shutdown, reauthorization does not appear imminent. Wisconsin farm groups say …


More than thirty states and the District of Columbia have decriminalized low-level cannabis possession offenses, according to The Marijuana Policy Project. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Kentuckians continue to be charged, jailed and fined for cannabis-related offenses at high rates, despite dramatic shifts in public opinion, …

Environment

play sound

Three conservation groups have sued to stop a large logging project near Yellowstone National Park they say threatens endangered species in Montana…

A $27 billion fund managed by the Environmental Protection Agency is designed to help states and local communities construct sustainable green projects to fight climate change and reduce greenhouse gases. (Adobe Stock/AI)

Environment

play sound

Elected officials in New York and across the country are urging state and local governments to use new funding available through the Environmental Pro…

Environment

play sound

A new poll found Pennsylvania Republican voters want political candidates to prioritize preserving and growing manufacturing including tariffs in the …

Social Issues

play sound

A California group formed after the firestorm that leveled the town of Paradise is stepping up to help Maui recover from its own disaster last month…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021