Lana Turner-Addison has provided child care in north Tulsa for a decade, but now the government shutdown is forcing her to dip into reserves to keep the day care open.
“As our subsidy amounts decrease, it just means we’re going to have to reduce staffing. That’s a no-brainer,” said Turner-Addison, director and co-owner of Pine Premier Child Care. “It can put providers like myself at risk of having to shut the doors if you don’t have any reserve.”
Facing funding uncertainties and employee furloughs amid the shutdown, the Oklahoma Department of Human Services ended a COVID-era incentive Nov. 1. The subsidy gave child care providers $5 for every child age 6 or older who attends each day. Of the 44 children Turner-Addison serves, eight were eligible for that incentive. That means she will lose about $1,200 each month.
“I was actually set to try to hire new staff members, but with what’s happening with the shutdown, I’ve got to put that on pause,” Turner-Addison said. “It means I’m going to have to take work home — paperwork I can’t get done during the normal day-to-day operations.”
On top of that, DHS is pausing most new applications and renewals for child care subsidies meant to help low-income families access child care. According to the state agency, 75% of the program’s funding is from federal sources, and they have to stretch it as long as possible.
Exceptions to the pause include children in foster care, adoptions, children with disabilities who are approved for a special needs rate and the unhoused population.
Turner-Addison says parents affected by the pause are facing uncertainty and difficult decisions.
“If they didn’t get them transferred over to another contract by (that) date, they may be at risk of not being able to remain in day care,” Turner-Addison said. “There are parents already talking about how they don’t know what they’re going to do, particularly if they lose child care… because they can’t afford it out of pocket.”
The issue is compounded by the federal government freezing the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), or food stamps, for the first time in the program’s history. While the Trump administration agreed to partially fund the program, it could be weeks until recipients receive any benefits.
“They are concerned they can’t afford (child care), so that means they’re going to have to not work, but then they have to worry about how they’re going to get food,” Turner-Addison said. “There’s going to be a domino effect.”
She fears parents may put their children at risk by scrambling to find new child care if they were unable to meet Saturday’s deadline.
“They’ll look for other options. They may look for in-home options with family members, friends or people they don’t even know that well,” she said. “I think there’s so much at risk with this.”
Turner-Addison wants other providers to know the work they do is paramount for their communities.
“We really do meet the needs of children and families and really provide a lifeline for all our families. I try to continually let other providers know that. We’re here, we’re working from the heart,” she said. “But we do need the funding.”
Read FAQs from the Oklahoma Department of Human Services about changes in child care subsidies and other shutdown impacts.
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