Woman Tells Of Fine Print In ‘Contract’ Day-Care Provider Takes On Gop Over Meal-Subsidy Cuts

“The governor’s here, in my back yard!”

Somebody pinch Shannon Selland, 29-year-old mother of four.

Three months ago, Selland was blissfully content with her line of work: providing day care in her north Spokane home.

Then she heard Republicans in Congress want to slash meal subsidies for day-care centers.

Incensed, Selland shucked her anonymity and began making phone calls. Lots of calls.

“I just caught on fire because I was so upset with what they’re doing,” she said.

Now, as the issue heads for U.S. Senate hearings, Selland is suddenly in demand. The New York Times and “Good Morning America” have called to ask her opinion.

So did U.S. Sen. Patty Murray.

Rep. George Nethercutt, R-Spokane, spoke with her, too, and got a tongue-lashing.

“He just doesn’t get it,” she said.

The topper came Saturday morning, when Democratic Gov. Mike Lowry stopped by Selland’s Shiloh Hills home to chat.

While lawnmowers whined a couple of fences away, Lowry spent an hour listening to Selland and other day-care advocates.

They told him that Spokane County’s 750 licensed day-care centers, 500 of which are in homes, depend on a federal subsidy that pays for healthy meals.

But new legislation - part of the Republicans’ “Contract With America” - limits the taxpayer supplements to poor children.

Republicans argue their plan streamlines a bloated bureacracy by passing the nutrition program to the states and delivering the food to the children who need it most.

Critics say the proposal hurts the quality of child care by forcing providers to pass along up to $60 a month in meal costs to parents.

For the past five years, Selland’s customers have been mostly single, working moms who are barely making ends meet.

They can’t afford to pay more for child care, she said.

If the meal subsidy is gutted, many “working poor” parents may be forced to leave jobs and fall back onto welfare in order to care for their children, warned Nancy Gerber, president of the Eastern Washington Day Care Association.

Or worse: Parents may entrust their kids to unlicensed day-care providers.

“This is a nightmare for children,” Selland said.

Flanked by state Rep. Lisa Brown, D-Spokane, the governor agreed, vowing to fight the spending cuts.

“There isn’t any other issue that brings tears to my eyes,” he said.

But Lowry cautioned that the state is also facing huge federal cuts in money earmarked for transportation and higher education - and those lobbies have far more clout in Washington than day-care operators.

Afterward, Selland felt buoyed by her encounter with the governor.

“He’s very tuned in,” she said. “He took the time to come out here and that means a lot.”

Lowry was invited to her home to see what an in-home day-care is all about.

The kids were there as usual, chasing one another around the house, but Selland couldn’t resist sprucing things up a bit for her guest.

“Usually, there’s toys all over the place,” she said with a smile.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo