On July 1, Illinois started a new fiscal year and began implementing the program changes to Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) mandated by our elected officials. These program changes mean that:
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Families face higher co-payments.
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Families that apply for child care assistance will be placed on a waiting list unless they are on TANF, have a child with special needs, make at or below 50% of federal poverty level, or are headed by a teen parent.
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Relative caregivers and adult members of their household will be required to have criminal background checks.
Additionally, families that are using CCAP will have to fully comply with all child support enforcement.
We must continue to urge the General Assembly and the Governor to work together to pass a fair budget with enough revenue to continue supporting working families.
Call your state legislators and the Governor’s Office! Tell them to work together to pass a fair budget that includes revenue required to support this budget. Tell them to protect the public services and programs that support the elderly, the homeless, and low-income children and their working families!
Watch this space as we begin sharing video interviews with the working parents with children in our programs as they tell their stories of how these changes will effect their lives.