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The never-ending nightmare: Child-care payments could be delayed three months

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Illinois

* Oy…

A new wrinkle in Illinois’ budget crisis unfolded Wednesday when Gov. Pat Quinn’s administration said it has begun to delay payments to more than 40,000 child-care providers.

The move could threaten the fragile budgets of many providers and the family finances of more than 85,000 low-income parents who receive state-subsidized child-care services.

The delays could mean no more subsidy payments to many child-care providers until July 1, said Januari Smith, spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Human Services.

“We don’t have the money,” she said. “We’re very well aware of the burden this will put on working families.”

* The response from Keith Kelleher, President of SEIU Healthcare Illinois and Indiana, which represents more than 35,000 home child care providers…

It’s hard to solve a state budget crisis by putting people out of work. Unfortunately, that’s precisely the predicament Illinois could put itself in, now that state officials have warned child care providers that they may not be paid for three months.

In the wake of yesterday’s announcement that the state has exhausted nearly all of its child care funding three months before the end of the fiscal year – leaving a $73 million shortfall that could incapacitate child care program for the foreseeable future – lawmakers should pass a supplemental appropriation to recover the money, before our already high unemployment rolls start to swell.

More than 35,000 home child care providers could see their businesses crippled by the funding shortage. These are not large commercial enterprises. They are small, independent providers who are already wrestling with fragile finances and simply cannot withstand a delay in their state payments. If they are forced to disrupt service, there will be a ripple effect of unemployment for the 85,000 working families who rely on the child care program to hold down a job and contribute the state’s ailing economy.

Let’s remember that the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) is key source of economic development, providing these 85,000 low-income families with a safe, secure learning environment for their children every day that allows them to go to work. If we allow funding for this program to dry up, we cripple the capacity for these parents to remain employed, which will only exacerbate the state’s budget woes both in the short and long run.

Even worse, the funding delay represent the first blow in a one-two punch that could cause the child care program in Illinois to collapse altogether. Governor Quinn has proposed $85 million in cuts to CCAP in his FY 2013 budget. These reductions would reduce access to the program at a time when the state should be redoubling efforts to help people stay on the job and rebuild our economy.

We urge lawmakers to not only pass a supplemental appropriation to plug the CCAP funding gap in the current fiscal year, but to restore the money that the Governor has threaten to purge from next year’s budget. Failing to do so will cost us even more in the future.

Man, do we ever suck.

posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, May 3, 12 @ 3:06 pm

Comments

Let’s hear from all those who want “those welfare people to go to work”. Now what? This looks like a front door back onto the public assistance rolls.

Comment by former state employee Thursday, May 3, 12 @ 3:23 pm
How much are we spending just on postage, PR, and associated administrative overhead to figure out and tell people that we don’t have money?! We should consolidate all our late bills into one small category and make that group of a few hundred or thousand wait some 25 years for payment! Hey, it’d save a couple grand on postage at least.

Comment by thechampaignlife Thursday, May 3, 12 @ 3:24 pm
Maybe we could just raise taxes again.

Comment by Rutherford B. Jayes Thursday, May 3, 12 @ 3:36 pm
Hey Quinn, that $10million you and Rahm announced a few weeks ago to make Chicago’s rivers clean enough to swim in - save it and give it to these folks. That $10m is the epitome of “money down the drain”. No serious scientist would ever claim it would make any meaningful impact on the river’s cleanliness.

Comment by Fair Share Thursday, May 3, 12 @ 3:36 pm
Are we 100% certain this is the option of last resort? Have you wrung every dime out of the DHS budget before making this call, Gov. Quinn & Ms. Smith? This is the program you must begin delaying payments on right now, above others?

I certainly hope so. It seems doubtful, however, based upon the most recent CAFR, your budgets and your department reviews.

Comment by Freeman Thursday, May 3, 12 @ 3:38 pm
As long as stories like this continue appearing on the same day stories about Madigan, etc. refusing to merge the Treasurer and Comptroller office appear, I find it difficult to believe that our state is doing all it can to get back on the right track.

Who wants an extra $12 million in future budgets? Not like we could use it or anything…

Comment by Freeman Thursday, May 3, 12 @ 3:46 pm
……lawmakers should pass a supplemental appropriation to recover the money…..

You can appropriate all you want but if you don’t have the cash to back up the appropriation it is meaningless. Rich, you are profoundly correct - we do indeed suck!

Comment by Anonymous Thursday, May 3, 12 @ 3:46 pm
I’m getting a strong sense from some commenters that, “Oh, we could provide all those vital services on the cheap, never have to raise taxes, everyone could do fine… Real services to vulnerable people don’t actually cost all that much money, let’s just get rid of anonymous ‘waste,’ etc.”

Bash but don’t over-bash Illinois Rich. May be seeing this program tuned to a national frequency in the near future, depending on what happens next November.

Comment by ZC Thursday, May 3, 12 @ 3:48 pm
Sell IDOT’s planes. Close the Mansion. Cut out Special Session per diem (after all, they will have failed to finish the job on time). Stop enforcement of all non-public health or safety, and non-revenue collection regulations. Stop all non-essential travel. Close all parks until new fee collection is in effect. Release all non-violent and non-DUI offenders with less than a year to serve remaining. Fire anyone who submits or has submitted a false or fraudulent workers’ comp claim. Deploy speed cameras on tollways and interstate highways. Cap University compensation at no more than the Governor’s salary (let the prima-donnas go if they want). Etc.

Comment by Fair Share Thursday, May 3, 12 @ 3:58 pm
Why not do an interaccount loan from university funding to this funding so that providers don’t have to wait? U of I has endowment; they can wait a couple months without going under/missing payroll, whereas child-care providers really can’t

Comment by Robert Thursday, May 3, 12 @ 4:05 pm
I currently receive the child care benefit. Well maybe not for long but none the less, maybe raising the co pay would be a better route rather than cutting funding completely. I am currently a student and this program allows me to attend school while having the peace of mind that my kids are with safe people. I am working towards a degree so I can get a good job where i can take care of my kids on my own. Cutting this program will kill off that goal, for myself and many others, as it will prevent parents from being able to work or force them to leave their kids with the crack head next door. How about cutting TANF out instead! With section 8, LINK, LIHEAP, Child care subsidy, and school grants, what do people need cash from the government for anyways? All those programs listed cover darn near everything and what it doesn’t thats because it isn’t a necessity and can be paid for with a part time job at McDonalds!

Comment by Need a helping hand! Thursday, May 3, 12 @ 4:09 pm
Unfortunately i am one of the sine mothers who sends my child to a day care center so i can attend school full time and work my part time job to provide for my daughter….so now wat i drop out of school quit my job and live off of the government when i can and have the desire to do and provide for myself? Then illinois needs to open up more free housing and start issuing more cash on the link card and more food stamps on the link card

Comment by nina Thursday, May 3, 12 @ 4:09 pm
hmm…let’s see…we’re taking away health insurance from retirees, child care from the working poor, closing facilities for the profoundly developmentally, closing centers for the mentally ill…And at the same time, giving tax breaks to corporations, refusing to close corporate tax loopholes and won’t change our tax structure that benefits the wealthy…that’s one messed up set of priorities,

Comment by anon Thursday, May 3, 12 @ 4:27 pm
Interesting how stories like this appear right now. Even DNR is out soliciting via a communique from their director. Doesn’t any poli…I mean agency head look or plan ahead more than what’s happening at 5 pm?

Rich, this is an important session but the players are still doing what they to best instead of not only addressing today’s issues but looking at the impact of their actions in the near future.

Comment by LINK Thursday, May 3, 12 @ 4:36 pm
@anon - exactly! It’s hard to have faith in our leaders when they suddenly “find” and extra $10, $20 or $100 million for some special purpose while crying poverty when it comes to things like this.

Strange priorities, indeed.

Comment by Freeman Thursday, May 3, 12 @ 4:44 pm
Cap university compensation at the governor’s salary?

Fair Share -
Ok, yeah, I really want to be operated on by medical students trained under the supervision of surgical medical professors at the state medical schools who are capped at the amount a typical first year doctor makes (gov’s salary). Or have a baby delievered by a C-section by a doctor trained at a medical school where the most senior faculty tops out at about $150K.

Those prima donnas!

Comment by Peter Snarker Thursday, May 3, 12 @ 4:45 pm