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Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>Scholarship For DCK That Seems To Not Need It Anymore....
Sugar Magnolia 10:25 AM 06-14-2011
I have a DCK that is on a partial scholarship from the state. The mom is single and works at a low paying job. Recently, however, she met a man she said she is marrying. She used to live in a modest home and walked or rode bikes to school. Now, since mom is engaged, she and DCK live in a very large, expensive home, drives a new high-end SUV, (fiance drives a sports car that costs as much as my house) and is sporting an engagement ring with a rock as big as my pinky toe. Suddenly, everyone has new clothes, new toys, goes on trips, etc. She says she is still working, but I never actually seems to be. So technically, she is STILL a single mom and STILL working a low-paying job (?). But they are clearly living large. Question is...should I call and report that I feel she no longer qualifies, or should I just mind my own business? With the economy the way it is, I'm sure there is someone on the waiting list that needs it more than she does. Wwyd??
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SimpleMom 10:30 AM 06-14-2011
That could be tricky. I don't know if you could anonomously (sp) report and, if so, if she would still know it was you? I do know that even though she is married/engaged, the state doesn't look at the husband's income. Here, they look at the paternal income and so that would be mom's and dad's only--not step-dad's kwim?
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Sugar Magnolia 10:34 AM 06-14-2011
Good point Simple....I don't know all the details of qualification. You could be right about future-dad not counting. But what if she flat out isn't working? I have no way of knowing if she is or not. I wouldn't work if I had that kinda dough. I DO know it was designed for "the working poor". And this IS our tax dollars, too.
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daycare 10:38 AM 06-14-2011
This is a tuff call, as they are not married and the BF has zero responsibility to the child. Until the knot is tied, i would leave it. But once they are married, they will take the new income into consideration. At least here in CA they will
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jojosmommy 10:43 AM 06-14-2011
I had a similar issue come up about a yr ago. Working mom needed to be on assistance. Got engaged and married. Got booted from assistance within a short amount of time b/c their current family income exceeded their allowed income. In our area all county programs communicate electronically via a linked computer program so that people can not cheat the system as easily. (ie, if you turn in WIC paperwork saying one thing and child care assistance paperwork saying something else it will automatically flag you) Also, in our area families are required to turn in paperwork every 6 months in addition to twice monthly pay stubs.

I do know however that if they live together but remain unmarried it will be more difficult to determine if they can qualify for certain programs b/c technically she is still single and still making little money.

I would leave it alone. I would hope that the right decisions are being made by the right people but I wouldn't want to be the one to interfere in someone elses business. I'm sure it will get noticed.

BTW, I would find out when they are getting married and start posting for an opening IN CASE they get booted and you lose you income. Or, be open and talk to the mom about that being a possibility once they are married and ask her what her plans are. Just tell her you have heard of other moms who have gotten booted b/c of it. Maybe they will pay you out of pocket to keep the kids at your house.
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wdmmom 10:46 AM 06-14-2011
Here in Iowa they consider your salary, the number of children, the number of hours you work, etc.

They don't base approval off live-in bf's income. If they get married, then they will.

About the only thing you can do is see when they are set for renewal and if she's still actually working. If she dropped down to part time or cut her hours or even quit, she may lose her eligibility.
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Sugar Magnolia 10:55 AM 06-14-2011
I am leaning towards staying out of it, it IS between her and the state. It only bothers me because we have another DCK that is also on a scholarship and he REALLY really needs it, legitimately. Our center is not the cheapest place in town, but is one of the best. We just want low income people to be able to go here too, it just seems unfair to the truly needy. But ultimately, not my business really. Just bothersome.
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daycare 10:59 AM 06-14-2011
I hear ya and it does stink that the mom is not offering to do more....But look at it like this....what if she goes off of it and then they split up? the mom will be left with nothing.

At this point, even though she is living a better life style, the child is her responsibility and falls under her, not the BF.
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PitterPatter 10:59 AM 06-14-2011
That's a tough call. Depends on what u are required to do too. Here with my state assisted families, if the parent is not working they are not permitted to use daycare and the day would not be paid to me if they were not at work. If I know someone is not working I am required to deny care.

Our state assistance goes by household income so in that lady's case she would now be denied daycare assistance. I don't know we are required to report that or not. Maybe I should check for future ref.

Even if someone is moving/has moved from the area (happened to me) I will not be paid for that clients care if it comes out that they moved and still brought the child to daycare. Seems to me if they move I should still get paid and the client reqiured to pay the state back but CCRR said no.
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PeanutsGalore 10:59 AM 06-14-2011
Originally Posted by Sugar Magnolia:
I have a DCK that is on a partial scholarship from the state. The mom is single and works at a low paying job. Recently, however, she met a man she said she is marrying. She used to live in a modest home and walked or rode bikes to school. Now, since mom is engaged, she and DCK live in a very large, expensive home, drives a new high-end SUV, (fiance drives a sports car that costs as much as my house) and is sporting an engagement ring with a rock as big as my pinky toe. Suddenly, everyone has new clothes, new toys, goes on trips, etc. She says she is still working, but I never actually seems to be. So technically, she is STILL a single mom and STILL working a low-paying job (?). But they are clearly living large. Question is...should I call and report that I feel she no longer qualifies, or should I just mind my own business? With the economy the way it is, I'm sure there is someone on the waiting list that needs it more than she does. Wwyd??
Don't worry about it. The state will cut her off as soon as she no longer qualifies, believe me. And if she chooses to lie to the state to get a small amount of benefits, then it will catch up with her eventually. They'll send her a bill, just like the IRS, and she can't get out of paying it.

You don't have to do anything, and don't even worry about the fact that she's better off right now (good for her!). The boyfriend is just that--a boyfriend, and he's not legally responsible for either her or her child.

No matter what, I'd start advertising for a new client, because the transition to her paying on her own might make for a sticky situation. And if the husband to be is that well off, then she may not need to work and may decide to drop out of daycare altogether--or send the kid to a fancier school.

Good luck!
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grandmom 02:08 PM 06-14-2011
Just make sure all your sign in/out forms are valid so that when the state audits her, it's her who has to repay, not you.
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Unregistered 08:33 AM 06-15-2011
PA State has asked daycare providers to help them stop the misuse of the system.
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Tags:scholarship, single mom excuse, state funded
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