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OKLAHOMA CAPITOL --- Adjustments in the share of co-payments paid by families for subsidized child care was approved by the Oklahoma Commission for Human Services during its monthly meeting June 10 in Oklahoma City. The changes become effective Aug. 1.
Child care co-payments are on a sliding scale based upon income, family size and the number of children a family has in child care. According to Nancy vonBargen, director, Division of Child Care, OKDHS, the agency has long been committed to improving families’ access to quality and affordable child care.
“The agency has worked during the last seven years and has successfully moved thousands of families off welfare and into the work force,” vonBargen said. “These families are working today because they have affordable, usually subsidized quality child care. That’s why OKDHS developed a child care assistance program that has grown in popularity and value to parents.”
Today, OKDHS provides child care subsidy assistance to more than 48,000 children from low-income families. The majority of funding for the child care assistance program comes from the federal government through the Child Care and Development Fund and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. They were to be reauthorized in 2002, but Congress has not agreed upon its provisions and funding levels.
“Despite the change, OKDHS will budget slightly more for our coming fiscal year than the $131.3 million budgeted for this fiscal year,” vonBargen said. “Even with this commitment, resources are not sufficient to maintain the same level of service due to record numbers of participating families and increased migration to higher quality child care.
Although some families may see higher co-payments for subsidized child care, approximately 40 percent of lower-income families will either see a slight reduction in co-payments for larger families or will experience no change to their current co-payment.”
vonBargen said since 1998, higher quality child care providers of the OKDHS’ “Reach for the Stars Program” have received improved reimbursement rates when they the met additional quality criteria. This has resulted in more highly educated teachers, higher compensation and lower staff turnover, plus higher scores on environmental assessments.
“We believe that funding for child care has increased as policy makers have better understood the significance of quality child care on children’s readiness for school and other long-term success measures,” vonBargen said. “The increasing cost of child care is a challenge facing most states. Child care is one of the largest expenses families face and it is critical for a variety of partners such as government, employers and communities, plus foundations and the faith-based community to assist families with this challenge.”
In a survey conducted by the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO-03-588), 23 states have reduced access to child care assistance during the last two years, and 26 states are unable to serve all eligible families who apply for assistance and have created a waiting list.
“OKDHS wants Oklahomans to understand that we have our same high level of commitment toward helping low-income families,” vonBargen said. “While these increases will impose an increased burden on some families, the child care assistance program still offers a tremendous benefit for working families.
For example, OKDHS pays up to $498 per month for care of a three year old in a high quality metro child care center. The cost of care is higher in metro areas, in center-based care and for younger children who require higher staffing levels.”
For more information on the statewide and county-level status of child care in Oklahoma, the 2003 Oklahoma Child Care Portfolio can be accessed at http://okchildcareportfolio.org/. The OKDHS website provides information on the child care assistance program at www.OKDHS.org/childcare/ParentInfo/QualityChildCare.htm.
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