January 17, 2014

Department of Social Services

State Board of Social Services

801 E. Main Street

Richmond, Virginia 23219

Dear Chairman and Members of the State Board of Social Services,

On behalf of the Fairfax County Office for Children, I would like to thank you for the opportunity to provide comments on the proposed state child care regulations (22 VAC40-661).  The child care subsidy program is a key strategy in Virginia for ensuring that families can be productive members of the workforce while their children attend early childhood and school age programs that support their school readiness and ongoing success.

Fairfax County recognizes the importance of affordable child care for families and for the economy and has long supported the provision of child care subsidies for working families.  With a combination of federal, state and local funding, the County serves approximately 4,700 children monthly in the child care subsidy program.  The median income of families in the program is approximately $26,000 and for many families, child care subsidies are the only form of assistance they receive.  The Office for Children appreciates the Virginia Department of Social Services’ work administering the Child Care and Development Fund in the Commonwealth, and we value our ongoing partnership in serving children and families.

We are, however, concerned that some of the proposed changes to the child care subsidy regulations will impede localities’ ability to serve vulnerable families and best meet the needs of their community.  We are requesting that the state amend the proposed regulations to provide for local options.   

The proposal to require all localities to implement a six-year limit per family on the receipt of child care subsidies is one that we would request be changed so that the limit would be optional.  While many families participate in the child care subsidy program for fewer than six years, there are some families whose incomes do not rise sufficiently within that time-frame to enable them to afford the cost of child care.  If these families are no longer eligible to receive child care subsidies, the employment they have worked to continually maintain will be jeopardized.  If parents cannot afford child care, they may lose their jobs, or may have to make difficult decisions regarding care for their children.  One of many parents who would be impacted by this proposed regulation works full-time as a teacher in a child care program, works part-time at a retail store, and is close to completing her associates degree at Northern Virginia Community College.  She has an eight-year-old who has attended child care since he was an infant, thereby making her ineligible for child care subsidies if a six-year limit is imposed.  Her son is too young to be home alone before and after school and during the summer months, and she cannot afford child care without a subsidy.  This parent is doing everything we would hope she could do to work toward self-sufficiency and care for her child -- losing the subsidy would jeopardize her continued progress and success.  Other families who have a second child and have reached the six-year limit would face the overwhelming challenge of paying for infant care, which in Fairfax County can cost well above $14,000 a year.  In addition to impacting parent employment, the six-year limit could result in school age children being left home alone, or responsible for caring for a younger sibling on their own.

Currently, localities have an option of imposing a limit on a family’s receipt of child care subsidy.  We request that the proposed regulations be amended to continue to allow local agencies the option of implementing a limit which would better ensure that localities are able to meet the needs of the families and children they serve.

We also request that the proposed regulations be amended to continue to allow the use of local alternate fee scales for copayments.  We recognize the important work VDSS has done to move toward implementing a sliding fee scale for localities in which families currently pay a flat 10% of gross income for care.  Sliding fee scales are positive strategies for supporting families as they work toward self-sufficiency, considering family income and allowing fees to rise as income rises.  However, we request that the state continue to allow the use of an alternate, local fee scale in lieu of requiring use of the state-wide fee scale.  In Fairfax County our local fee scale accounts for the economic challenges faced by working families in our community.  It has enabled us to meet the needs of many families, including those whose incomes are below or at the federal poverty limit.   Currently families in Fairfax County pay from 2.5 to 10 percent of gross income for care.  The proposed state-wide fee scale would require families to pay from 5 to 10 percent, doubling the payment for families with the lowest incomes.  Continued use of a local fee scale would enable the County to better meet the needs of working families.

We also request that the proposed regulation mandating that families applying for child care subsidies register with the Department of Child Support Enforcement be amended.  It is important for children to have access to all available sources of income, and the Office for Children regularly refers single-parent families in the child care subsidy program to DCSE.  We are concerned that requiring registration with DCSE will be a deterrent for some at-risk families and will preclude them from applying for child care subsidies.  This could keep the child from benefiting from either source of economic support – child care subsidies and child support.  There are multiple reasons this requirement would discourage families from applying for child care subsidy.  These include impact on informal, successful support arrangements, language and cultural barriers, and fear of reprisal from the non-custodial parent.  Although the regulations indicate that an applicant must provide the information required by DCSE “unless good cause for noncooperation is determined by the program”, the requirements for establishing and documenting “good cause” are stringent and may be difficult to meet.

We again request that the proposed regulation be amended to provide localities the option of requiring DCSE registration in order to better ensure that localities are able to meet the needs of families in their communities.

The final regulation we would like to address is the proposed requirement that applicants for subsidized child care must be 18 years of age.  Over the years a number of parents under the age of 18 in our community have received child care subsidies while they have completed high school.  This support has enabled them to place their infants in safe, regulated child care while they pursue their diploma, learn to be a parent and plan for their new family’s future.  Because these young parents and their children are particularly vulnerable, the child care subsidy is a key component of the safety net the community, County and schools work to maintain for teen parents.  We request that this requirement be reconsidered or that a local option to support serving teen parents be allowed.

We appreciate your consideration of our comments and support of our efforts to serve children and families in our community.  Please do not hesitate to contact me should you have questions or need additional information.

Sincerely,

Anne-Marie D. Twohie

Director, Office for Children