More families now eligible for child care subsidies

As a result of this year’s campaign led by Parent Voices, more families will now be eligible for subsidized child care. The campaign advocated raising the income ceiling for child care subsidies by updating the state median income (SMI) figure: Families are eligible for subsidized child care if they make up to 75% of the SMI. The update means, for example, that a family of three is now eligible for a subsidy with a monthly income up to $3,628—the old ceiling was $2,925.

The parents’ strategy included writing letters, making phone calls, and meeting with legislators in Sacramento to tell them how the outdated income ceiling was hurting families.

Working together for change

Mary Lawson, mother of two and director of a private child care/preschool program in Los Angeles, got involved after talking with other parents at a Parent Voices meeting. She wrote a letter to the governor, and then went to Sacramento. “I asked (the legislators) why they were making it so difficult for parents who are really trying to get job training and an education to get quality child care.”

Lawson says participating in the campaign helped her realize that “if we all come together, we can really do some positive damage.” She adds, “The parents have to become involved and understand that they can be heard. The legislators will listen—legislators want to make a difference too.”

“Anybody can do this,” Lawson says, but working on the campaign also helped her discover her own personal passion about effecting change: “Now I want to be the City Council woman in District 9. I can make a difference!”

Fighting for all families

“It’s really amazing the response that we got,” says Hilleary Zarate, mother of Darrick, age four. “I’m really proud of Parent Voices and how they help parents organize. Without Parent Voices, I wouldn’t have known what to do.”

Zarate became involved in the SMI campaign because her income was higher than the eligibility limits, but soon realized she was fighting not just for herself but for all families. “In order to work, we need to have child care,” she says. “In looking at my own situation, I was looking at options for all California families. And one of those options is placing our children with (lower-cost) unqualified child care providers, so I was really pushing for quality care. I was fighting for all mothers and families.

Parent Voices contacts:

Statewide: Mary Ignatius, 415-882-0234. mignatius@rrnetwork.org
Alameda (Hayward): Jennifer Greppi, 510-584-3115, jenniferf@4c-alameda.org
Alameda (Oakland): Janet Zamudio, 510-658-7353, janet@bananasinc.org
Amador: Brenda Bullington, 209-223-1624, ext. 109, Brenda@hrcccr.org
Butte: Jane Haberman, 530-895-1677, jhaberman@valleyoakchildren.org
Calaveras: Cheryl Berg, 209-754-1075, ext. 115, cberg@hrcccr.org Contra Costa: Candy Duperroir, 925-778-4739, candy@cocokids.org
El-Dorado: Heather Della Ripa, 530-541-5848, hscfcslt@pacbell.net Fresno: Lourdes Hernandez, 559-456-1100, louh@cvcsn.org
Los Ángeles: Christine Giron, 323-421-2602, cgiron@crystalstairs.org Marin: Leah Benz, 415-491-5776, leah@mc3.org
Sacramento: Rachel Minnick, 916-369-3387, Rachel.Minnick@childaction.org
San Francisco: Maria Luz Torre, 415-343-3383, parentvoices@childrenscouncil.org
San Mateo: Nelly Puhachevsky, 650-655-6770, ext. 283, nelly@sanmateo4cs.org
Santa Barbara: contact statewide organizers
Santa Clara: Mario Del Castillo, 408-487-0747, mariod@4c.org
Solano: Kathy Lago, 707-864-4620,
klago@solanosfcs.org
Sonoma: Lorie Siebler, 707-522-1413, lsiebler@sonoma4cs.org