Child care assistance falls short

Many low-income Minnesotans needing subsidized child care don’t have equal access to quality care.

That was the focus of members’ questions during a an overview of Department of Human Services early learning and child care assistance programs given to the House Early Childhood Finance and Policy Division Jan. 15.

Cherie Kotilinek, DHS child care assistance program manager, said one program fully subsidizes child care costs for parents enrolled in the Minnesota Family Investment Plan, the state’s cash assistance program to the poorest families. Another, Basic Sliding Fee child care assistance, helps low-income working parents pay for child care through a partial fee reimbursement to care providers — but its waiting list of 7,159 families isn’t likely to be reduced to zero any time soon.

Rep. Mindy Greiling (DFL-Roseville) wondered what parents who are stuck on the list do instead. Kotilinek said her department doesn’t track waiting families, but that community studies indicate they use up savings or “max out” credit cards to pay for care and sometimes just quit their jobs.

While the sliding fee program’s intent is to equalize access to quality care, members were concerned about its limitations.

Kotilinek said reimbursement rates were frozen in 2003 and, although raised by 6 percent in 2006, have not kept pace with market rates in many parts of the state. Parents must pay providers a co-payment of up to 14 percent of their income, but sometimes the sum of subsidy and parent co-pay falls short of the provider’s market rate. Kotilinek said providers may fund raise to make up the difference, “otherwise it’s the parent’s responsibility.”

The disparity “raised a red flag” for Rep. Carlos Mariani (DFL-St. Paul). “We may be driving lower income people out of access, because if I am a provider would I accept a frozen lower rate when the market is going to pay a better rate?”

“I think that’s a question we should all think about and struggle with,” said Rep. Nora Slawik (DFL-Maplewood), the division chairwoman. “It’s hard especially with the fiscal environment now.”