Federal Aid for Child Care Services Allows Local Head Start Classroom to Reopen
By Jon Craig
The new year has brought new hope for child care advocates with the restoration of millions of county and federal tax dollars to increase the number of slots and quality of care.
“As a mother, as a grandmother, I know how difficult it is to prepare a child for Kindergarten,” said U.S. Rep. Nita Lowey, during a Friday news conference in White Plains.
Lowey announced passage of more than $1.1 billion in federal aid for affordable child care nationwide, including $100 million for child care initiatives in New York and $500 million to Head Start providers. “It is one of the best investments we can make,” Lowey said.
Kathleen Halas, executive director of the Child Care Council of Westchester, asked Lowey, “How did you do it? I was stunned. I was stunned . . . You are a miracle worker.”
Lowey is the top-ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee.
“The misguided, reckless cuts to these services in the last year have had real consequences for children and families in our region,” Lowey said.
“We were holding our breath,” Halas said. ” I really thought there could be another cut.”
The good news comes on the heels of this month’s inclusion of $900,000 in early child care money in County Executive Rob Astorino’s budget, money that was cut last year.
Halas and other child care advocates were crossing their fingers for more public assistance when the state budget is released this week. “The stars are aligning,” said Halas.
Halas said there is overwhelming evidence that the achievement gap starts right away and does not go away for many children. The increased funding for Head Start, Early Head Start and child care will open up the early leaning opportunities that parents in our community so desperately seek for their children,” Halas explained.
About 161,000 children in Westchester need day care, but there are just 80,000 regulated slots available. The average annual cost is about $13,000 for infants and pre-school children. A fall survey by the Child Care Council found nearly half of the working parents receiving subsidized child care were having trouble paying their share, and one-fourth of them were behind on payments.
White Plains Mayor Tom Roach said, “There is no better function government serves than early child care.”
Susan B. Wayne, president of Family Services of Westchester, said her agency will be able to reopen a Head Start classroom as a result of the federal funding.
Adam has worked in the local news industry for the past two decades in Westchester County and the broader Hudson Valley. Read more from Adam’s author bio here.
