Another Gray Administration Attack On Child Care

By Sequnely Gray, on October 26th, 2012

Listen up!! The Mayor and his administration have done it again!

Children from Zena’s Child Development Center in Southeast lobby DC’s City Council to fund the subsidized child care program.

Another one bites the dust in The Division of Early Care and Education. Just this past week the Assistant State Superintendent for Early Care and Education was tossed to the winds and terminated from her position. That makes 5 turnovers in the past 2 years. The Division of Early Care Education oversees all community based child care centers and the child care subsidy/voucher program. These child care centers and the child care subsidy/voucher program serve the families that are in greatest need. The Division of Early Care Education also helps make it possible for small businesses like child care centers to employ community members within the communities they operate. Without this position being filled there will definitely be no accountability, providers will for sure continue to struggle with operating their businesses and parents will be completely forgotten about.

What’s the answer? FIGHT BACK!! PARENT, PROVIDERS AND OTHER STAKEHOLDERS. COME TOGETHER AND JOIN EMPOWER DC’S CHILD CARE FOR ALL CAMPAIGN!! LET’S PLAN FOR ACTION TO HOLD THE CITY ACCOUNTABLE!!

JOIN US TO FIGHT THE ATTACK ON CHILD CARE! WHEN: SATURDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2012 WHERE: The Dorothy I. Height Library 3935 Benning Road NE (walking distance front Minnesota Avenue metro station) TIME: 1:30 – 3:30 CAN YOU WORK WITHOUT CHILDCARE?

Contact Sequnley Gray at childcare@empowerdc.org or 202-234-9119 ext. 103 for more information.

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Subsidized Child Care for Middle Class Parents. Hm?

By Liane Scott, on October 25th, 2012

DC Urban Moms and Dads Co-Founders Maria Sokurashvili and Jeff Steele. A popular and informative blog for DC utilized by many DC-area parents.

DC’s Subsidized Child Care Program is set up to help low-income parents cover the cost of child care while they work, look for work or go to school. A good idea, right? We’re always hearing about how tight the city’s budget is, but if our elected officials want to collect revenue in taxes from parents who can’t afford child care, keeping them from working is not the best way to go. Despite this obvious conclusion, convincing DC government to fully fund the Subsidized Child Care program is a constant battle. As it turns out, convincing some DC residents that it’s important is also a challenge.

It may be those parents who fall into that “donut hole” of not making enough to pay for child care but not making so little that they are eligible for the subsidy who are hardest to convince. I was one of those parents when my daughter was younger. It sucked not to get the subsidy when I really could have used it, but I wasn’t so bitter about it that I didn’t want parents who were even worse off than I not to get the subsidy either. Unfortunately, I came across at least one mother in the donut hole who felt otherwise.

Two years ago, I put out a request to help support Empower DC’s Child Care For All Campaign on an online forum devoted to the concerns of DC parents, DC Urban Moms and Dads. The request was not dissimilar to the request I’m making below.

CAN PARENTS WORK WITHOUT CHILDCARE? JOIN US TO FIGHT THE ATTACK ON DC’s SUBSIDIZED CHILD CARE PROGRAM WHEN: SAURDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2012 WHERE: The Dorothy I. Height Library 3935 Benning Road NE (walking distance front Minnesota Avenue Metro Station) TIME: 1:30 – 3:30 For more information, contact Sequnely Gray at childcare@empowerdc.org or 202-234-9119 ext. 103.

This was of course two years ago. The organizer to contact was Ben Parisi, not Sequnely Gray, but the basic goals of the campaign have not changed. Two years ago, at least one anonymous poster on the DC Urban Moms & Dads forum, took exception to my request. The online argument that ensued illustrates some of the confusion over the program which I tried to clear up. I’m not sure how successful I was, but I do think the exchange is… Well, perhaps you should judge for yourself.

FORUM DISCUSSION FROM DC URBAN MOMS AND DADS

Liane: I don’t know if forum readers will find this useful or not as I suspect most of you don’t fall into this category, but in the event that you know someone in the District who simply can’t afford child care or anyone interested in helping out low-income parents, the following notice might be useful. I post on behalf of Ben Parisi, Empower DC’s Child Care For All Campaign Organizer.

http://www.grassrootsmediaproject.org/2010/11/does-vince-gray-really-support-early-childhood-education/

PP Social Worker: I agree that it is a huge issue. I am a social worker in DC and see this all of the time. Thanks!

Anonymous: Its actually the middle income families who have the bigger issues – the lower income can get child care subsidies or go to sliding fee day cares – the middle class are in a bind as child care for one with deductions/taxes can be as much as one parents take home so you can’t afford to work nor can you afford to stay home.

Liane: Well, that’s the point. If the child care subsidies program isn’t funded then the lower income parents aren’t getting the child care vouchers that they need or they’re getting vouchers that don’t cover the cost. I’m not saying the middle income families aren’t screwed over by this issue as well, but I just don’t know if it’s actually a bigger issue. Being a true progressive, I think the state would do well to work to help not only poor folks with their child care needs, but also the folks on the verge of becoming poor folks, a number fast increasing in the current economic climate. But if you want to hear from someone who really deals with this issue on a regular basis, consider checking out this post – http://www.grassrootsmediaproject.org/2010/10/ben-parisi-is-pissed/ He makes a lot of good points.

PP Social Worker: Not just middle income. I have a mom that is making just above minimum wage (not middle class . . . → Read More: Subsidized Child Care for Middle Class Parents. Hm?

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DC Doesn’t WORK without Child Care!

By Sequnely Gray, on September 27th, 2012

Join Other Parents in the Child Care for All Campaign Stand up for quality affordable child care for all DC families! YOUR VOICE NEEDS TO BE HEARD! Join Us @ the William O. Lockridge/Bellevue Library on Saturday, September 29, 2012 From 12:00pm to 2:00 pm @ 115 Atlantic Street SW Washington, DC 20032 Closest Metro is Anacostia on the Green Line Advocate For Yourself! Join with Other Residents Who Share Your Concerns and Build Power As a Group! For more information or to RSVP email Sequnely at childcare@empowerdc.org or call Empower DC @202 234 9119 ext.103 DC DOESN’T WORK WITHOUT CHILDCARE!!!

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Battling for Subsidized Child Care

By Sequnely Gray, on June 25th, 2012
Shantise Summers testifies at City Council

On May 14, 2012, members of Empower DC’s Child Care for All Campaign along with their children-otherwise known as the BABY BRIGADE-visited the Wilson Building to educate the city council on the importance of the child care subsidy/voucher program and the challenges community-based child care centers are having on a day to day basis to keep their businesses running. The child care subsidy/voucher program is a federally funded program that was designed to subsidize child care for working families and parents that want to continue their education or seek employment.

As we visited council office after council office with our babies, we were puzzled as to why no one really cared about child care. We got the same answers over and over, “we are focused on getting extra money for the TANF program so that we can get these 6,000 families assessed and back to work or school.” No one even stopped to think that most or all of those TANF families will need subsidized child care to go back to work or school. Even with working parents, providers and teen parents from Anacostia’s New Heights Teen Parents Program expressing the challenges we’ve had finding available slots for our children in child care centers, making ends meet and completing the intake process, we were still unable to get solid support on restoring the budget for child care and making the intake process more accessible.

Despite our efforts, the mayor’s proposed $5.7 million dollar cut from the child care subsidy voucher program was voted into law on June 5, 2012. This budget cut will affect about 400 hundred families who won’t have access to a voucher or will be in jeopardy of loosing their voucher. The budget cut will also make it even harder for community-based and family child development centers contracted by the Office of the State Superintendent (OSSE) to operate and provide quality child care. Mainly the community-based centers will suffer.

It is very clear that the mayor and the city council don’t know or understand the value of early care and education BEFORE KINDERGARTEN! So, it is our job as parents, providers and community members to work harder to educate these city officials and stand up and advocate for our little people. They are our future leaders and we have to make sure they have the proper tools and support they need to be successful. LISTEN UP!!! DC DOESN’T WORK WITHOUT CHILD CARE!!! SO, LET’S STRENGTHEN OUR COMMUNITIES AND SUPPORT COMMUNITY-BASED CHILD CARE CENTERS!!

In addition to lobbying the council in their offices, Child Care for All Campaign members Sequnely Gray, Toneisha Johnson and Shantise Summers also testified during the city council’s budget hearing on human services. Coucilmember Jim Graham, Chair of the Committee on Human Services, seemed to agree that the intake process needs improvement. On the otherhand, his implication that providing a subsidy so that parents can meet their child care needs is like providing substance abuse treatment to drug addicts is nuts. In the District of Columbia, child care typically costs $18,200 per year, per child. You don’t have to be anything like a drug addict to need help meeting those costs.

For more information and/or to join Empower DC’s Child Care For All Campaign, contact Sequnely Gray at childcare@empowerdc.org or call 202-234-9119 ext. 103.

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Empower DC’s Baby Brigade Demands Subsidized Child Care

By Liane Scott, on May 27th, 2012

Subsidized child care, which provides low-income parents with vouchers that pay a portion of their child care costs, is one of the most important work support programs available in DC and around the country. In Washington, DC, child care costs typically range from $10,000 – $20,000 per year, per child. Without subsidies that help make child care affordable for low-income families, thousands of parents in DC are unable to work, unable to look for work or attend school so they are better qualified for work. Of the 48,176 children who qualify for the program less than half are enrolled. Yet, Mayor Vince Gray’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2013 would reduce funding for the subsidized child care program by $5.7 million dollars. As you can see in the following video, Empower DC’s Baby Brigade isn’t standing for it.

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