Child Care Assistance Program on Pause

OSWEGO COUNTY – Oswego County Department of Social Services (DSS) announced today that the Child Care Assistance Program will pause until further notice due to a funding shortage. The move begins on Monday, Feb. 16 and impacts both new applications and recertifications.

“This will have a significant impact on many families and child care providers around our county, no doubt,” said Oswego County Legislator Michael Solowy, District 23, chairman of the Legislature’s Human Services Committee. “New York State made changes to the eligibility guidelines which boosted program enrollment. While it’s great that we can help more residents, those changes didn’t come with additional funding to subsidize these families.”

Adding to the current situation, local agencies are no longer permitted to roll over funds, effective Oct. 1 of last year. This partially reduced their starting account to a point that doesn’t support the state-mandated 12-month certification period.

“We remain committed to supporting our community through this development and will resume the program when funding becomes available once again,” said Oswego County DSS Commissioner Lee Sullivan. “In the meantime, we will continue to provide updates as new information becomes available.”

She added, “Despite this setback, I would still encourage families to submit their applications and complete their recertifications, so they may be added to the waitlist once they are deemed eligible.”

All applications received will continue to be screened for income and program eligibility. Families who are determined to be eligible will be placed on a waitlist and prioritized according to federal and state guidelines when funding resumes.

The following clients will not be affected by this program pause:

• Temporary Assistance (TA) recipients who need child care for a child under the age of 13 to participate in required activities, such as education, training, treatment or employment opportunities.
• Individuals who are eligible for TA and choose child care in lieu of public assistance.
• Individuals who are eligible for Transitional Child Care.

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