Child Care Co-payments Adjustment Deferred

OKLAHOMA CAPITOL --- Adjustments in the share of co-payments paid by families for subsidized child care that was originally approved by the Oklahoma Commission for Human Services on June 10 has now been deferred after a three-to-two vote during an emergency meeting of the Commission today in Oklahoma City.
The co-payment changes that were to become effective Aug. 1 have been deferred to May 1, 2004.

The Commission’s approval of the deferral will give state executive and legislative leaders an opportunity to seek a more permanent funding solution to the increased costs of child care co-payments and the ever-increasing demand for services. Without action, the co-pay adjustments would have been effective by week’s end.

Oklahoma Department of Human Services (OKDHS) Director Howard H. Hendrick told the Commission that state leadership was needed to find a “recurring revenue source as a funding solution” and encouraged advocacy groups, as well as the state’s major media, to garner public support for a permanent recurring funding solution. The additional time should also allow OKDHS to evaluate the accuracy of its budgetary projections.

The deferring action requires OKDHS to use $15 million from its Temporary Assistance for Needy Families’ reserve rainy-day fund to carry this action until May 1, 2004.

OKDHS said it would broadcast the deferral decision as quickly as possible to child-care providers so that they would use the appropriate co-payment levels that were in place prior to Aug. 1.

This moves the child care subsidy budget from $131.8 million to $146.8 million. Original budget expectations for fiscal year 2003 were to spend $130 million in subsidy for 43,000 to 45,000 children in the subsidized child care program.

In reality, preliminary OKDHS reports show an average of 48,000 children served monthly during fiscal year 2003, with more than 50,000 receiving subsidy in June alone.

###