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Moms take day-care case to Salem Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell Two mothers will lobby Monday in Salem against changes proposed to the Adult and Family Services budget. They are Sunshine Laczkowski, shown here with her sons Nehemiah, 18 months, and Tristan, 4, and Anna Carpenter, shown with her 5-year-old son, Austin. The mothers say increases in the amount they pay for day care could put their families over the financial edge. Talent women say changes in child-care aid could break bank By Jonel Aleccia Sunshine Laczkowski and Anna Carpenter are more accustomed to lobbying toddlers than legislators over issues that have more to do with potty-training than politics. But the two Talent mothers plan to travel to Salem on Monday to let lawmakers know that proposed changes in state child-care aid could tip their financially fragile families over the edge. "It�s something I�ve never done before," says Laczkowski, a 27-year-old single mother of two. "But they need to know that every dollar counts. It�s month-to-month every month and crossing your fingers that the car doesn�t break." The women are scheduled to testify at a hearing about the proposed budget for the state Adult and Family Services division. Laczkowski, a day-care worker, and Carpenter, a 36-year-old secretary and mother of three, may face hikes in the amount they pay for child care under a state program that subsidizes fees for low-income families and those moving off welfare. They are among about 1,000 local families enrolled in the state Employment Related Day Care. Laczkowski�s co-payment could rise from $123 a month to $137 a month, while Carpenter�s would jump from $168 to $277 a month, under changes to the subsidy plan included in Gov. John Kitzhaber�s proposed 2001 biennial budget. Both women say the changes would boost child-care bills beyond their ability to pay. "To be able to afford this kind of safety for my kids is important to me," says Carpenter, who enrolled her kids in the Discovery Corner center in Phoenix after escaping an abusive relationship. "I don�t want to be priced out of it." Changes in the subsidy plan are part of about $19 million in proposed cuts to the state AFS division in Kitzhaber�s proposed budget. The cuts, which also would trim some 17 local case manager positions, are only part of an overall lean spending plan. "In a tight budget cycle, there are some tough decisions that have to be made about what�s important," said state Rep. Rob Patridge, R-Medford, who has been keenly interested in child-care issues. He said he and other lawmakers would be receptive to the testimony of Laczkowski, Carpenter and Laurie Kappel, owner of Discovery Center. The women hope their appearance will alter plans to roll back improvements in the subsidy program, which was changed only a year ago. The budget reverses policy changes implemented in March 2000. It reduces the number of people eligible for the program by lowering income requirements from 185 percent of the federal poverty level to 160 percent. It increases clients� share of costs and reverts to a stair-stepped co-payment schedule � a change that critics claim penalizes poor families. "Your income would go up one dollar and bump you into a whole new category," said Dennis Alexander, of the Job Council in Medford. "It�s a percentage now, so that with each little change in wages, you have a comparable change in day-care costs." Kitzhaber�s budget does retain a benefit for workers moving from training programs to full-time jobs. The holdover limits a qualified worker�s out-of-pocket child-care fees to $25 per month for two months, easing the transition from welfare to work. Alexander and other child-care advocates say that the proposed cuts not only force low-income folks to pay more, they limit their choice of providers. "We�re concerned that the AFS rates are only covering 40 percent of the available market," he said. "Federal guidelines say workers should have their choice of 75 percent of what�s available." But AFS managers say the cuts are only part of a leaner budget overall for welfare services. The proposed budget also trims cash welfare benefits by $5 per month and eliminates JOBS Plus, a program that subsidizes wages for former welfare recipients. Part of that is because welfare caseloads have decreased dramatically as local staff have implemented welfare-to-work reforms, said Ida Saito, local district manager for AFS. Since July 1994, local caseloads have been cut nearly in half. This budget calls for a corresponding decrease in case managers, trimming 17 positions in local offices. "We�ll be using attrition," Saito said. "But I think it�s going to put an incredible burden on the rest of our staff." Reach reporter JoNel Aleccia at 776-4465, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.