Assure Equal Access to Quality Child Care by Capping Parent Co-Payments at 10% of Household Income

February 6, 2003

Author: Susan C. Antos

A child care subsidy provides low income parents access to quality child care that they could not otherwise afford, but it only provides meaningful access if parental co-payments are in an amount that low income families can afford. A cap of 10% of household income would provide equitable treatment of similarly situated low-income families across the state, and assure that New York complies with the intent of the federal child care legislation that co-payments be affordable.

New York’s current parent fee scale is determined by the following formula:  the poverty level income for the household size is subtracted from overall household income. Then, each social services district (county) chooses a multiplier between 10% and 35% to apply against the balance.[1]  The resulting number is the family’s yearly co-payment amount, which is divided by 52 to determine a weekly amount.  This formula means that similarly situated families pay dramatically different fees for child care, depending solely upon the county in which a family resides.  For example, a family of three at 200% of poverty ($30,040/year) in each of the following counties pays the following amounts for child care annually:

(Dollar figures in the chart are rounded to the nearest whole number)

As the attached chart indicates, as household income gets higher, parent share is more likely to exceed ten percent of household income. This is why the facilitated enrollment project in Westchester County, which provides subsidies to families up to 275% of poverty, is having such a difficult time attracting parents.  As you can see, co-payments for parents at the higher end of the co-payment scale pay over 20% of their income for child care when they have a subsidy under the state’s current system.

Federal child care regulations clearly suggest that co-payments should not exceed 10%.  The federal regulations require sliding fee scales [45 C.F.R.98.42] and require the state agency to explain “how co-payments based on a sliding fee scale are affordable.”  45 C.F.R.98.43(b)(3).  The preamble to these regulations states: “... in our view, co-payment scales that require a low-income family to pay no more than ten percent of its income for child care, no matter how many children are in care, will help ensure equal access.”  63 Fed. Reg. 39960.

As a general rule federally funded benefits for low income families (i.e. food stamps and HEAP)  treat similarly situated people in an equitable manner, by providing uniform benefit standards.  We would think it grossly unfair if persons with similar circumstances received fewer food stamp dollars than others in the same financial circumstances. Child care in New York is primarily a federally funded benefit.  Of the $913 million allocated for child care last year in New York’s budget, the local share amounted to just over $68 million or 7 percent of the total child care allocation.  A federally funded benefit should not be so inequitably distributed among the citizens of New York State.

We propose that section six of Social Services Law §410-x be amended as follows to make child care co-payments affordable: 

§410-x.  Eligible Families

1. Pursuant to department regulations, child care assistance shall be provided on a sliding fee basis based upon the family=s ability to pay.  No co-payment shall be assessed to a family whose income is at or below the state income standard as defined in Social Services Law 410-w(2).  Co-payments shall not exceed 10% of the household income.
   

 
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[1] 18 NYCRR 415.4(d)(3).

Supporting Documents: