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-   -   OT: Child Care Assistance (https://www.daycare.com/forum/showthread.php?t=33835)

rjskids 08-26-2011 11:03 AM

OT: Child Care Assistance
 
I don't know anything about this but I am asking in regards to my niece who's child is in my care. She just started her second year of college and has decided that she wants to change her major. (she was going for business management and just this week she decided she would like to go into teaching). When she called her DHS person about it they told her she only had 14 months left of her state assistance (??). My question is...why do I have one parent who doesn't go to school, has a full time job, is on her second child and is living with the father able to get child care assistance but my niece who is a single parent, going to school full time and working part-time given a cut-off? I don't understand it, hopefully someone out there has some knowledge of this so I can pass some advice onto her. She is really stressing about this.

Zoe 08-26-2011 11:13 AM

Unfortunately assistance is more about what you make rather than what you are trying to accomplish. My family has been going through this for a while now. We are barely making ends meet, yet are not qualified for assistance due to our income. We make too much, which is just a laugh.

I don't have any advice except to maybe have your niece talk to the assistance department about what can be done to extend it. I think the part time job may have something to do about it.

mismatchedsocks 08-26-2011 11:30 AM

Not sure how they can tell that, unless its different then childcare payments through the state. But I only get about 6 months at a time for parents who get paid through state then they have to do a reapply and see if still eligible.

mac60 08-26-2011 11:38 AM

I have often wondered why young adults who make good choices in their life get refused for help to get thru college....just because a person makes a poor choice in their life and becomes a single parent does not give them the right to free. Sorry, but it is true. We continue to reward those who make bad choices, and forget to reward those young adults who make good choices with their life. As my daughter has said as she is struggling to make it thru college....maybe I should just have a baby then it would all be free. :mad:, not that she would do that, as we have raised her with better morals than that.

familyschoolcare 08-26-2011 12:01 PM

OP what state are you in?

rjskids 08-26-2011 12:07 PM

Originally Posted by mac60:
I have often wondered why young adults who make good choices in their life get refused for help to get thru college....just because a person makes a poor choice in their life and becomes a single parent does not give them the right to free. Sorry, but it is true. We continue to reward those who make bad choices, and forget to reward those young adults who make good choices with their life. As my daughter has said as she is struggling to make it thru college....maybe I should just have a baby then it would all be free. :mad:, not that she would do that, as we have raised her with better morals than that.

Not really expecting this to turn into a debate but since you took it down that path....

I seem to have quite a few friends who was able to find help to get thru college that didn't require having a baby (aka grants, scholarships, loans). There are things out there for the "Good choice" people. Now for the "Bad choice" people...my niece was planning on going to college UNTIL (YES) she made a bad choice. And she is not proud at all about having to apply for all this assistance, she does feel like a low life, and it's people like you that make her feel that way. BUT IF she did not have the programs available to her to help her get on her feet and get thru school then she WOULD BE a lowlife for the rest of her life because she can't afford to go to school and raise a family. Just because she made a mistake doesn't mean she was not raised with good morals...she is trying to build her life for her and her daughter, isn't she??? Your daughter SHOULD be proud of herself...but my niece should also be proud of herself also because she is a wonderful mother and SOMEDAY she will also be a wonderful teacher.
end...of...rant...

familyschoolcare 08-26-2011 12:14 PM

Originally Posted by rjskids:
I don't know anything about this but I am asking in regards to my niece who's child is in my care. She just started her second year of college and has decided that she wants to change her major. (she was going for business management and just this week she decided she would like to go into teaching). When she called her DHS person about it they told her she only had 14 months left of her state assistance (??). My question is...why do I have one parent who doesn't go to school, has a full time job, is on her second child and is living with the father able to get child care assistance but my niece who is a single parent, going to school full time and working part-time given a cut-off? I don't understand it, hopefully someone out there has some knowledge of this so I can pass some advice onto her. She is really stressing about this.

If you live in cal this is B/C when Arnold was governor (please no debate on wither he or this was good or bad not the point) he placed a cap on cash aid assistance. Their is not a cap on child care assistance, medical assistance, and food stamps.

rjskids 08-26-2011 12:26 PM

My questions have been answered by a friend who is a social worker...thanks anyways guys :cool:

mac60 08-26-2011 12:33 PM

We can all believe what we want as I know from experience and living thru it, that many of us who have made good choices are passed over for scholarships, grants etc. Glad you have your answer.

CheekyChick 08-26-2011 01:13 PM

In my state, child care assistance is for low-income working families. It is not for parents who attend college. I have a mother who is in college and her student loans cover her child care.

mac60 08-26-2011 01:18 PM

In our state, they get free college, a car, gas money for the car, free daycare, living expense money, when they go to a prenatal checkup or well baby check, they get a $100 Walmart card just for showing up. This comes from a nurse who works in a gynocologist office.....they get it all.

MarinaVanessa 08-26-2011 01:23 PM

Originally Posted by rjskids:
My questions have been answered by a friend who is a social worker...thanks anyways guys :cool:

I'm curious to know what the explanation was. Care to share?

Blackcat31 08-26-2011 01:41 PM

In the state in which I live there are several different types of programs that offer child care assistance to the parents. On my end as a provider, unless the parent tells me which program they are recieving their funding through, all the forms and payments to me are the same. There are limits to the amount of time each program can be used.

We have a program called Basic Sliding Fee Child Care Assistance. This allows a parent to recieve assistance indefinately until they no longer meet the income guidelines.

Other programs that give assistance for school attendance have timelines to ensure the recipient is meeting her/his educational goals in a specific amount of time. The state doesn't want to pay 4 years of full time care for a parent to earn a 2 year degree..kwim?

rjskids 08-26-2011 01:57 PM

The program she perticularly uses is Promise Jobs and they approve you for so many months. You must be in school full-time and follow all the guidelines (turning in schedule, grades, etc). She originally planned on going to a 2 year college but changed her mind and decided to go into teaching. So I'm not sure if she has to "reapply" now since she changed the plan.
The other family just goes through the basic child assistance program offered through DHS, which if she wanted to she could just do that instead.
It all makes sense to me now as to why the two families had different guidelines.


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