Research:

• Research shows that families who receive child care subsidies are more likely to work and to stay off welfare than those families who do not receive this help.  

Current Realities:

• Like college, quality child care is expensive.   But, unlike college costs, the price of child care is borne entirely by parents in most instances, except for a relatively small proportion of the very poorest of families.
• For families across the income spectrum, child care fees cost more each month than most other household expenses.  
• A family of four with an one year old and a three year old and a median family income of $47,600 could spend between 21% and 31% of their income on child care.
• As a result of declining TANF reserves, along with the historic state fiscal crises, Cumberland County like many communities has instituted a waiting list for child care vouchers. Children in the agency’s custody or with parents involved in Work First will continue to be allowed to enroll in the subsidy program. So will parents who are working at least 30 hours a week. Parents who need the child care subsidies to go to college, to work part time, or who have children with developmental problems will have to wait. Teen parents wanting to stay in high school will also have to wait. Without financial assistance, many of these parents will be forced to leave their jobs or schools and apply for welfare because they can no longer afford to pay for child care. Some low-income working families may even be forced to seek inappropriate or unsafe child care arrangements in order to continue working.
• Effective in leveraging subsidy dollars so lower-wealth parents have more choices for their child and can receive high quality early childhood experiences.
• PFC provides outreach and education for parents and providers regarding parental eligibility for subsidized child care.  
• PFC continues to facilitate discussions with M@4, Head Start and child care providers to work toward developing a single portal of entrance for 3 & 4 year olds.  
• DSS, FTCC, FSU and Parent Services provides parent education and outreach regarding qualifying for child care subsidy.
• Market rate
• The market rate for a three year old in a 3, 4, or 5-star family child care home is $4,300 to $5,000 per year.
• The market rate for a three year old in a 3, 4, or 5-star child care center is $6,200 to 6,800.
• The market rate for a one year old in a 3, 4, or 5-star family child care home is $4,600 to $5,000.
• The market rate for a one year old in a 3, 4, or 5-star child care center is $7,000 to $8,000.

Current Realities:

• BRAC is hiring a consulting firm to complete the study, which will take 2 years to complete. The goal of the study is to address how community needs will be met and recommendations will be made to address those needs, one of which will be funding recommendations.
• Those typically developing children birth to five years as well as those with developmental disabilities, medical conditions, behavioral concerns, etc are not addressed in the current BRAC scope of work. The main concern is the community's capacity to serve additional military families without additional resources/funding. An increase in referral numbers for state and locally funded programs does not mean an increase in budgetary funding. Wait lists and quality of services will be compromised if additional funding to serve these families is not received.   In addition, those children determined eligible for the Infant Toddler Program who may need intervention services will also suffer if the services are not available in the community due to the increase in referrals.
• Ft. Bragg is an The Exceptional Family Member Program (EFMP) site. Oour military families have stated that they have selected to come to Ft. Bragg because of the services available. However, once they arrive, they are often put on wait lists for services because there are not enough resources available to serve all of the children within the community.
• Military families who live off post are also very frustrated that their children cannot benefit from on-post services such as therapies, as they are only allowed to serve on-post families. Military families will likely need quality daycare services, which will also be impacted and should be addressed to assure availability of those services. Within the military system, the Educational and Developmental Intervention Services (EDIS) program will also be effected by the influx of families. {Email from Lisa Hemstreet}