January 16, 2014

I am urging legislatures to really think about the proposed 72 month limit for child care subsidy per family.  The limit would devastate so many children and would do nothing but create a vicious cycle, including parents losing their job because of no childcare, to children being placed in unregulated, unsafe care or home with siblings too young to provide childcare.  If a child enrolls in a subsidy child care program as an infant and hits the 72 month limit while still in the subsidy program where would a parent place that 6 year old?  If the parent should have another child where would a 6 year old and younger sibling go for child care so the parent can work?

In my 12 years as the Director of Laurel Learning Center in Reston, VA I have witnessed hard working parents raising families in a very expensive Fairfax County.  Many of the parents work 2 jobs and seem to balance their lives more successfully because of the quality care that the subsidy program allows.  Childcare tuition without subsidy at Laurel Learning Center for just one child runs between $13,000-17,500 per year.  Many of our families annually income averages between $30,000-40,000 per year. 

A single Dad of a 7 year old daughter has had his daughter enrolled at Laurel Learning Center since she was 2 years old.  He delivers pizza for Papa Johns during the day and works as a security guard on the weekends.  With his days always working he somehow manages to see his daughter perform at our center’s piano recital.  If he were to lose child care subsidy if the 72 month limit is imposed his daughter would be alone after school at the age of eight. She would just be one of the 100s of children that will lose care with the 72 month limit.

I request that the proposed 72 month limit of child care subsidy be amended and allow localities the option of implementing a per family limit on receipt of subsidies.

Courtney Park-Jamborsky