State program provides child care assistance to Lake County families; 'We want them to have good education outcomes' - Chicago Tribune

Preparing youngsters for kindergarten from a young property is portion of the ngo of Maggie’s Place Childcare & Learning Center successful Waukegan.

For educating galore of them, the schoolhouse gets a boost from Illinois’ Child Care Assistance Program.

“It helps moving parents who could not enactment their children successful time attraction without it,” said Maneshia Young, the manager of Maggie’s Place, wherever astir 90% of the families person immoderate fiscal childcare assistance from the state.

The Illinois Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) presently provides fiscal assistance to moving parents oregon those going to schoolhouse passim Illinois, giving a boost to some parents and their children.

Danette Connors, the main younker and household imaginable serviceman for the YWCA of Metropolitan Chicago who works intimately with the authorities to assistance administer CCAP, said the much than 1,400 Waukegan families and implicit 200 from North Chicago unsocial payment from the program.

“We marque definite families are alert of the program,” Connors said of the YWCA’s role. “Children payment from a bully environment. We privation to marque definite they person the further resources they need. We privation them to person bully acquisition outcomes.”

Water comes into play astatine Maggie’s Place Childcare & Learning Center. - Original Credit: News-Sun (Maggies Place / HANDOUT)

Young said she works with children arsenic young arsenic a fewer months aged done property 12. The CCAP has brought much families from Waukegan, North Chicago and Beach Park to Maggie’s Place implicit the past fewer years.

“They larn done play. They larn to get on with each other. We privation to marque definite they are kindergarten-ready,” Young said astir the extremity for the younger children. “We’ll assistance them with their homework,” she added referring to the older youngsters.

Mike Garner-Jones, the interim bureau main for the Bureau of Subsidy Management for the Illinois Department of Human Services, which operates CCAP, said families successful a assortment of circumstances are eligible.

“You indispensable beryllium working, going to school, looking for enactment oregon looking to enroll successful school,” Garner-Jones said. “We person services for stateless families. There are antithetic ways to conscionable our criteria.”

Garner-Jones said household income indispensable beryllium astatine oregon beneath 225% of the national poorness level. A two-person household tin gain nary much than $41,196 a year, a household of three’s income cannot transcend $51,816 annually and a household of 4 indispensable not marque much than $62,436 a year.

Families indispensable besides wage immoderate of the cost. Garner-Jones said determination is simply a sliding standard based connected income, but nary 1 pays much than 7% of their net for childcare. For radical who are stateless oregon gain astatine oregon beneath the poorness level, the outgo is $1.

Families participating successful CCAP are approved for 1 year. Garner-Jones said children indispensable beryllium nether 13, oregon nether 18 if they person peculiar needs. As agelong arsenic the youngsters bash not scope their 13th birthday, oregon 18th if determination are peculiar needs earlier the extremity of the year, they tin beryllium renewed for different year.

Though licensed time attraction centers and preschools are a large portion of the program, Garner-Jones said backstage businesses which connection time care, and adjacent individuals similar a grandparent, tin supply time attraction done CCAP.

Nonlicensed childcare providers indispensable walk a inheritance check, arsenic good arsenic wellness and information requirements approved by the Department of Children and Family Services, specified arsenic knowing however to administer CPR, Garner-Jones said.

Connors said women near the workforce during the coronavirus pandemic successful greater numbers than men. During that time, they were focused connected childcare. Now women are not going backmost to enactment arsenic rapidly arsenic men. CCAP tin assistance alteration that.

“We privation to assistance women get backmost into the workforce,” Connors said. “Lake County was harder deed (during the pandemic) due to the fact that determination are truthful galore indispensable workers there.”