Agenda - 02-04-2025; 12-6 - Information Item - January 2025 Child Care Subsidy Monthly Report

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1 Child Care Subsidy Monthly Report January 2025 Background Orange County's Department of Social Services provides child care subsidy and social casework services for families, including information and referral services to help parents determine appropriate child care placements. The objectives of this program are to: • Provide subsidies for high quality child care for low-income working families, children involved in child welfare cases, and other at-risk children in Orange County. • Assure that eligible employed parents wait less than six months to receive child care subsidy. • Utilize all available federal and state funds to support child care needs of local children. During Covid beginning in 2020, additional State and Federal funds were available for child care subsidy. These funds have been exhausted and State and Federal funds in child care subsidy have returned to pre-Covid amounts. In 2022, the market rate for child care was adjusted, resulting in significant increases in costs for care. In 2019, the DSS share for a child receiving subsidy averaged around $700 per month. The current average is closer to $1,200 per month. Orange County continues to have some of the highest market rates for child care in the State of North Carolina. Due to this increase in costs and reduction of funds in child care subsidy, Orange County is unable to serve the same numbers of children using State and Federal funds as in previous years. Social Services therefore began a waiting list on September 1, 2024 for parents who are working or receiving training. On October 1, 2024 the Board of County Commissioners authorized ending parent fees November 30, 2024 and made funds available to remove a number of children from the waiting list each month to prevent excessive wait times. Waiting List and Children Served The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is still requiring all counties spending at high levels, including Orange, to have a waiting list for state funding for non-priority groups (children subject to the waiting list policy).At its height, the waiting list had more than 90 children. In December, we made the decision to eliminate the waiting list temporarily due to County fund availability,natural attrition, and the pace of enrollment of families previously on the waiting list. All waiting parents were contacted to begin enrollment in child care subsidy. We are currently accepting new applicants without a waiting list. We are monitoring spending and may have to enact a waiting list in February or March if enrollment increases significantly. For the months of December and in January to-date, seven children were added to County funds.