Four state governments in the U.S. have announced various expanded child care assistance programs, with the help of federal funding, that will go to families who are struggling in this pandemic crisis.
On July 1, Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly unveiled the Hero Relief Child Care Assistance Program changes. Initially planned as financial support for the child care cost of essential workers, the expanded scheme will now cover all Kansas workers.
In a statement, Kelly said that the expanded Hero Relief Child Care Assistance Program would provide the local workforce access to reliable and quality childcare. A Kansas worker who earns "250% or less of the federal poverty level" will automatically be eligible to claim the benefit. Interested Kansans can apply via the KS Hero Relief official site.
Michigan and New York on High-Quality Child Care
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has also announced that 150,000 Michigan children will have better access to care while their parents are at work with the release of the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act and the American Rescue Plan.
According to the Detroit Free Press, families will get two rounds of additional stimulus funding amounting to six times more than what the state receives for its annual federal child care support.
Whitmer said that part of this money would go to businesses or facilities that provide child care to ensure the improvement of services and prevent closures.
Eligibility for subsidized child care costs, including families enrolled in the Michigan Reconnect and Futures for Frontliners, will also expand to 200 percent of the poverty level and will take effect from Aug. 1, 2021 to Sept. 30, 2023.
In New York, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said that child care scholarships would be granted to essential workers effective June 23, 2021. This covers a wide-ranging scope of frontliners from the health care industry, law enforcement and fire departments, food delivery and grocery store industries and transportation workers. The funds will also come from the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act and American Rescue Plan Act. They will be administered by the New York State Office of Children and Family Services.
Cuomo said that the state would like to give essential workers "peace of mind" when they come to work, knowing that their children are in a safe facility receiving high-quality child care.
New Mexico's Biggest Expansion Yet
While Kansas, Michigan and New York aim to help lift families from the poverty level by 200 percent, New Mexico has the biggest child care assistance program yet as it expands the child care benefits to 400 percent.
In a statement, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said that they used a "cutting-edge cost estimation model" to determine the new subsidy rate payments to support providers to enhance their services for families. New Mexico will also increase the Child Care Assistance income eligibility beginning Aug. 1, 2021.
"This is the single largest eligibility expansion in the history of our child care assistance program," Grisham said. The state will use the funds from the American Rescue Plan.
