Jan. 15, 2013 -- Westchester County Executive Robert P. Astorino announced Tuesday that the bi-partisan plan to cap the parental contribution for the county's subsidized child care program at 27 percent of income above the federal poverty level is set to go into effect on Feb. 1.

The 27 percent level represents a compromise reached by Astorino and a coalition of seven Republicans and two Democrats on the Board of Legislators in December that split the difference between the current parental contribution of 20 percent and the 35 percent level that was sought when the program began to run out of money last year.

"The issue was never the county's commitment to day care but figuring out a way to keep the program solvent," said Astorino. "Last year, the Democratic majority did not put enough money in the budget to cover costs and the program had a $3 million deficit by the end of the year. The 27 percent parent share means a typical family will pay about a dollar more a day. In return, the program is on a firm financial footing for 2013. The end result is a compromise that is fair and realistic."

The process of notifying parents of the change from 20 percent to 27 percent will be completed this week. For a family of three with an income of $25,389 (at 133 percent of the federal poverty level, which is the median for the program) the weekly contribution goes from $24.33 to $32.71, an increase of just over $1 a day.  The fee is based only on the portion of income that exceeds the federal poverty level, and families in the program pay the same amount no matter how many children they have in child care; it is not per child.      

At 27 percent, Westchester remains well below the state maximum of 35 percent, which is the amount charged by 19 counties and New York City. Three other New York counties are at 30 percent.

            Westchester County also compares favorability with other counties in terms of eligibility, including those that might have lower parent share. Westchester provides day care subsidies to families that earn up to  200 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL), while others use 150 percent or even lower.  

Here are some examples:

• Rockland County has a 25 percent parent share but it has a three-year waiting list for new cases, including Title XX.
• Putnam County has a 20 percent parent share but its eligibility for low income cuts off at 150 percent of the FPL.
• Suffolk County has a 30 percent parent share but its eligibility for low income is at 100 percent of the FPL and it has a freeze on all new Title XX cases.  
• Dutchess County has a 30 percent parent share but its eligibility for low income is at 125 percent of the FPL and it has no Title XX day care.