(PITTSBURGH) - Today, County Executive Innamorato announced a $500,000.00 investment in Allegheny County Child Care Matters pilot program, which will clear a waitlist of 28 qualifying families and open up spots for additional families to take advantage of the program. Child care is an economic priority because stable, quality child care, is essential for working families to stay engaged in the labor force. The average cost for an infant care is $237.00 per week in Pennsylvania. Without some financial relief, the cost of child care can force people out of the workforce, continuing the region’s slow post-pandemic economic recovery.
In April 2022, Allegheny County’s Department of Children Initiatives, in partnership with the
Early Learning Resource Center, began piloting a county-level subsidized child care program for Allegheny County’s working families called Allegheny County Child Care Matters. Eligible families meet Pennsylvania’s Child Care Works eligibility requirements for work or education hours but their family incomes exceed the 200% of the Federal Poverty Income Guidelines (the Child Care Works maximum) while still being under 300%.
Families contacted the Early Learning Resource Center to determine eligibility, and quickly filled all the slots in the pilot program. That is when the county began tracking a wait list. Today’s announcement of $500,000.00 in county funding will clear the current waitlist of 28 families and open up some additional slots for families who want to take advantage of the program. The Allegheny County Department of Children Initiatives estimates up to 15,000 children in Allegheny County could qualify for this program, highlighting the urgent need to find additional solutions for working families.
County Executive Innamorato said: “I want to thank the hard-working staff at the County Department of Children Initiatives and Department of Human Services who administers this program through the Early Learning Resource Center. Your passion for helping families thrive comes through in your work every day. I’m delighted to announce an investment of an additional $500,000 in this important pilot program - I know there will be some very happy phone calls to families to tell them they are off the wait list and will have access to child care. As I mentioned in my inauguration speech, barriers to accessing child care is an urgent economic issue and I pledge to work with the private sector, foundations, and other partners to find more regional solutions far beyond just this pilot program to making quality child care accessible to working families.”
This investment is paid for using available funds from the American Rescue Plan.