Uncategorized | February 5, 2019
LB:329 Affordable Childcare for Working Parents in Nebraska
Did you know that Nebraska is one of the least affordable states in the entire country for child care?
Senator Kate Bolz introduced LB329, which is a bill related to Child Care Subsidies. This bill revises eligibility requirements for child care assistance and provides for changes to program guidelines to align with federal regulations.
Essentially, LB329 will ensure that there are increases to the child care subsidy income qualifications and raises it from 130% to 165% and transitional care limits from 185% to 200%. Secondly, any fee charged by the department for the cost of processing applications and administering a criminal background check as required for childcare licensure shall not exceed the actual cost to the department for processing and administration.
For example, a single parent of 2 would need to be earning an hourly wage of $12.99 to be eligible for child care subsidies today. If passed, LB 329 would allow the same parent earning up to $16.49 per hour to be eligible for assistance. The bill also eases the “cliff effect” by allowing more families to remain eligible as they earn more. Under LB 329, families are still responsible for a co-pay, which increases as their income rises.
Click HERE to review a fact sheet from our friends at Nebraska Appleseed and important legislative information from Voices for Children.
Please consider testifying or sending a letter of support to Health and Human Services Committee Chairperson, Senator Sara Howard (showard@leg.ne.gov). Letters are due Thursday, Feb 7th by 5:00 PM.
The hearing is set for Friday, February 8th at 1:30. It is recommended to arrive at the State Capital plenty early as this is the first Legislative Bill scheduled during that hearing.
Let us know if you have questions. Julia Tse, Voices for Children jtse@voicesforchildren.com, and Tiffany Seibert Joekel, Women’s Fund tjoekel@omahawomensfund.org would love to hear from you if you are planning to testify. It would be nice to coordinate any testifiers and put you in touch with Senator Bolz’s office.