More Using Beefed-Up Child Care Subsidy Funds Help Pay Bills For More Than 840 Children In 5 Northern Counties

Reasoning that parents can’t work and watch their children at the same time, the state is offering more families more money to pay child care bills.

Last year, the state Health and Welfare Department turned back more than a quarter of the $8.2 million the federal government offered to help cover day care costs.

This year, the grant increased to $11.4 million, “and we’re not sending anything back,” said Bill Walker, Health and Welfare spokesman. The state chips in another $2.5 million.

Walker said a family earning $1,000 a month could get $280 last year to help pay a $400 monthly child care bill. This year, assistance for that same family increased to $380 a month.

Under most circumstances, Idaho’s year-old welfare-reform program requires parents to work before they can receive state assistance. To make that mandate work, the Governor’s Welfare Reform Advisory Council decided in 1995 that helping fund child care should be a priority.

“There is a big need for child care out there,” Walker said. “By helping more families with child care, we’re helping those families be stronger and more self-reliant.”

So far this year, the Idaho Child Care Program has helped pay the bills for 842 children in Idaho’s five northernmost counties. That’s up from 457 in 1997 and 357 in 1996, said Walker.

Statewide, the program has helped 13,502 kids, up from 6,630 children in 1997.

The program spent an average of $198 per child per month in the five North Idaho counties. That compares with $228 in the Boise area, where costs are higher.

GETTING HELP Working parents struggling to pay their child care costs can learn whether they qualify for state assistance by calling (208) 769-1456. Licensed child care providers who would like to register for the state program should call (208) 765-6296.