Posted on 09/28/2010 4:32:59 PM PDT by Tea Party Reveler
Solano Family and Children Services hurting without state budget deal By Melissa Murphy / The Reporter Posted: 09/28/2010 01:03:04 AM PDT
Photo --> Kristi Zieska of Suisun City (SEWER SOON CITY) secures her 11-month-old son Bearen Brookshire into a car seat following day care Monday at Solano Community College. (Rick Roach / The Reporter) Lacking a state budget, child care in Solano County is on the brink.
Solano Family and Children's Services announced Monday they would no longer be able to pay child care providers in the community because of the long delay in passing a state budget.
Children's Network Executive Director Kim Thomas said that 800 local businesses are at risk of closure, which affects more than 2,200 children.
"We're worried," Thomas said. "Providers are staying in business on such a thin margin already."
Some child care services are paid for in part or whole depending on a family's income. A voucher type program allows the parents to find the child care they want and the state reimburses that provider.
Since the state does not have a budget, providers will not get paid for services that have already been provided.
The consequences, according to Thomas, include thousands of local parents who aren't able to show up to their jobs, causing ripples of disruption and strain on a broad range of local businesses.
The children's program at Solano Community College that provides childcare for infants, toddlers and preschool children is feeling the funding constraints already since they haven't received state funding since before July 1.
Fortunately, the program has the college picking up the tab for payroll and supportive parents are donating supplies.
Most of the parents using the services provided by the children's program are full-time students at the college and at least 125 of those families receive some amount of subsidies.
"This is unfortunate and unnecessary," said Christie Speck, a member of the Solano Child Care Planning Council.
"Budgets are ultimately a statement about what we value," she continued in a press release. "We are sick and tired of seeing the state budget balanced on the backs of our children. It is unconscionable that state officials are seeking tax relief for multinational corporations and expecting our kids to pay the price."
Other areas in jeopardy are centers at public schools and Community Care Licensing, the state entity in Health and Social Services responsible for licensing the child care facilities.
Thomas explained that school districts also get state funds for their child care programs, but with a tight school budget already those programs could be cut.
She added that because of cuts, Community Care Licensing will no longer process new licenses, but will continue to support and monitor the current facilities that already have one.
"If a business had to close because of the lack of funding, it wouldn't be able to go back into business if the funding eventually is there," Thomas explained.
"There are already many fewer child care facilities in our community than what is needed," she said in a press release. ... "If there are even fewer licensed homes and centers in our community, more and more children will be left home alone, unsupervised or parents will lose their jobs because they are unable to find safe child care options."
She holds the governor and the lack of a budget responsible for these programs being in jeopardy.
"Our governor is most responsible for this debacle that could easily force a big leap in our local unemployment rolls," Thomas said in a press release. "In fact, he has proposed that these same services be permanently eliminated. ... These are extraordinarily difficult financial times. We're all angry at what's being done to the average person in this county."
sounds like SCC should be shut down.... lacks accreditation??
They always have such anglo names in these releases.
Google / YouTube = Sewer Soon City
If people would stay married and moms would stay home to raise the children, there wouldn’t be an unemployment problem OR a day care shortage problem. Flame away!
When I was going through school in the dark ages, one message that was unmistakable was if you screwed around in school by drinking, drugging, skipping classes, getting pregnant or getting someone else pregnant, life was going to be hard. Lacking much in the way of union jobs as an alternative, we all knew it was get a serious education, qualify for college, or it was grunt work forever. Today that message is totally gone. Now, if you screw up, the state will pay for your education, your child care, your abortion, your apartment, your groceries. Why not screw around?
Director, Children’s Programs Christie Speck: Compensation package of $122,911 includes $85,668 base salary, $8,318 retirement contribution, up to $27,002 in health benefits, $326 vision benefit, up to $1,499 dental benefits, $25 life insurance premium, $48 management life insurance premium and $25 employee assistance program. Also receives 14.4 days sick leave and 22 days vacation.
overseeing a $12 million budget for operating costs
Don’t be too quick to issue a boo-hoo alert over this kind of stuff, folks. There is a lot of pain on the horizon and we’re all going to feel some of it.
Our government spending is insanely out of control and needs to be slashed. No argument there. But what services are you willing to give up to see those savings? You can’t have it both ways. Do without Family & Child Services? Yeah, that might be one of the many casualties.
(Let’s keep this local, for purpose of illustration.)
If your local police union won’t accept massive pay cuts (say 60 percent?) then how will you feel about having TWO cops on the street from midnight-to-8, instead of the 16 you have now? When you call 911, you won’t see a response in less than an hour. Can you accept having no public library, or road repairs done every 5 years instead of annually? Cutting corners on water treatment? And expect massive “user fees” for school kids; everything from bus services to school lunch.
The howling will only get louder when the Social Security purse strings are tightened so that payments go only to those who paid into the system. More screaming will ensue when public retirement plans are brought down to Earth.
Oh, and the thousands of laid-off government workers will be scrapping for the few jobs that remain, complicating that problem, too.
We do indeed need to cut spending. Somehow. God willing.
When you call 911, you won’t see a response in less than an hour.
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Welcome to my world. BTW, I still pay taxes for those who get immediate response to a 911 call. I call it charity.
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