Monroe County Executive Adam Bello today announced additional enhancements to the county’s child care subsidy program that will make care more accessible and affordable for residents and provide greater economic certainty for child care providers struggling to
recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. Under the plan, families receive a one-year guarantee of child care with the average family saving almost $900 a year.
“For many of our working families, child care can be both an economic necessity and a barrier to advancement and greater opportunity,” said County Executive Bello. “These common sense changes make it easier for parents to access and afford the quality child care they need to work and provide for their families or pursue educational and other training opportunities. These changes also help struggling child care providers by ensuring they receive more consistent payment, even when children may be absent due to illness or other circumstance.”
“Supporting working families is my top priority, and that means ensuring they have safe, reliable, and affordable options to care for their children,” said Congressman Joe Morelle. “In addition to helping parents save money, these changes will stabilize revenue for providers and lead to greater workforce participation—but most importantly, they will provide piece of mind for families who are struggling. I’m proud to have secured funding to make this a reality and remain grateful to County Executive Bello for his leadership in making investments that uplift our entire community.”
The changes are as follows:
“Quality, affordable child care fulfills our society’s fundamental obligation to provide for the
well-being of our children. It is also an economic necessity: parents can’t work when they don’t
have child care,” said Larry Marx, the CEO of The Children’s Agenda. “Parents are constantly telling The Children’s Agenda about their struggles to afford quality care, having to choose between paying for child care or a job or school or other necessities. These changes in Monroe County will make child care assistance more flexible and affordable, and they keep struggling providers — many of which are small, woman-owned businesses on razor thin margins – open to serve families. We commend County Executive Bello and his administration for responding to our community’s needs. Investing in quality, affordable child care now yields returns many times over by supporting the health, education, and lifelong success of our children.”
The Children’s Agenda
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Rochester, NY 14614
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The Children’s Agenda advocates for effective policies and drives evidenced-based solutions for the health, education and success of children. We are especially committed to children who are vulnerable because of poverty, racism, health inequities and trauma.