After reviewing next year’s budget, officials at the Oklahoma Department of Human Services have decided to lift the freeze on child-care subsidies starting Friday.
The original date to resume applications was to be Aug. 15, but DHS Director Ed Lake said many schools districts are opening enrollment earlier and subsidies will be needed.
As reported in the Tulsa World on Tuesday, the program had stopped taking new clients after the worsening state revenue failure showed it would run out of money. It is funded through a combination of the federal Child Care Development grant and state matching funds.
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The budget for the program has been cut from $138.9 million in fiscal year 2012 to a current projection of $123.3 million.
“Child care assistance is one of the core services of DHS and it was so disheartening for us to have to freeze access to this critical program. After the second revenue failure, we knew we would run out of funds before the end of the fiscal year June 30 if we didn’t limit the number of people accessing those services,” Lake said in a news release.
“Through natural attrition of recipients dropping out of the program in June and July and not filling those slots, we have accumulated enough savings to begin taking applications again and feel reasonably sure there will be enough funds to sustain the normal ebb and flow of the program throughout next year — barring any future or unforeseen reductions to DHS funding.”
The flood of new applicants is expected to create a temporary backlog due to a reduced workforce, Lake said. Applications will be reviewed within the month, making sure families will receive notification before the start of school.
Families should not expect assistance to begin until Aug. 1.
Letters are being sent next week to applicants denied due to the enrollment freeze to let them know they can reapply.
Child-care subsidies in Oklahoma grew out of welfare reform in the mid-’90s. Many parents could not work because of the high cost of child care, both for young children and for before- and after-care for school-aged children.
Receiving a partial payment toward child-care costs allows those parents to return to the workforce and go off the rolls of programs like Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. To qualify for this assistance, applicants must be working or enrolled in school or training.
In Oklahoma, about 30,931 children on average between January and March were attending a program with help from a subsidy.
In Tulsa County, 88.5 percent of subsidies are to child-care centers, which include before- and after-school programs. The county has 34 programs specifically for after-school hours with contracts to receive children who qualify for a subsidy.
The amount of subsidy depends on income and household size. It is based on gross income, meaning before any deductions.
A parent earning minimum wage at 40 hours a week and has one child would pay about $54 a month. The subsidy would cover the remaining amount.
