More than $4 million has been found for local low-income childcare programs, Gov. Tim Kaine (D) announced at the Laurel Learning Center in Reston last Thursday.
In the waning days of the General Assembly session, the Republican majority in the House of Delegates rejected an emergency spending proposal to make up for a federal budget cut. The result was the potential loss of day-care subsidies which would affect about 1,900 low-income children in Fairfax County.
Republicans said the money would be better spent on transportation, and that they were not notified about the childcare issue far enough in advance.
The $4 million, a one-time allocation secured by Kaine and announced on Thursday, will restore those subsidies.
"Transportation funding is important, but we cannot provide it at the expense of programs like childcare services," Kaine said. "A parent who loses childcare is threatened with the possibility of losing paid employment ... that shouldn't be a decision that parents are forced to make."
FOR THE FUNDING to go through, local governments must provide a 50 percent match for all state-granted funds.
In total, 44 Virginia local governments will receive varying amounts of the funding. Fairfax County social service programs will receive more than $3 million in total.
Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Gerry Connolly, who introduced Kaine, welcomed the funds, but reminded that the ultimate objective is to find permanent funding for childcare projects.
Fairfax County will match more than $1.5 million to the project.
"Right now the goal is to keep the program functioning until we can find a more permanent solution in the budget," Connolly said. "Our most present priority is to allow children to continue to take part in the program."
Funding of childcare programs for low-income families is imperative to improve the lives of citizens throughout the county said state Del. Tom Rust (R-86).
"What this program is helping is ... the working poor, those families that have positions in paid employment and need a program that will not only look after their children, but give them a good environment to learn," Rust said. "Without this care it puts them in an awkward position of having to choose between remaining in that job and the care of their family."
AT THE LAUREL Learning Center, a branch of the faith-based non-profit organization Reston Interfaith, the decision to restore the subsidies will affect as many as 125 children and their families, according to Mary Supley Foxworth, communications manager for Reston Interfaith.
The center provides childcare and before- and after-school programs for 135 children ranging in age from infants to sixth grade students, Foxworth said, adding that as many as 90 percent of those children enrolled received low-income subsidies for tuition. The Center typically receives about $650,000 a year in government subsidies.
Having a "supportive and nurturing" environment where children are safe and can take part in learning activities makes the difference for the families who enroll at the Laurel Learning Center, Foxworth said.
The news of the renewed subsidies for childcare came as a relief to many of the parents who bring their children to programs at the center, she added.
"The cut in childcare funding was an incredibly important issue for many of the parents here," Foxworth said. "Without these subsidies, they are put into a difficult situation of having to choose between work and finding another childcare site that might not be as safe."
"We are very grateful for the money that was found to continue to finance this project so that parents are alleviated, at least for the time being, of having to make that decision."