Report: Cutting Children Out of Care, Into Poverty
A new report out today details the devastating consequences of Governor Rauner’s proposed cuts to the Child Care Assistance Program and other vital family services.
Click here to read the full report
Read the full report here. The report details the cuts proposed by the Governor, including:
- Reducing funding and access to early intervention would have negative impacts on child development, especially for those with mild or moderate delays who benefit most.
- Reducing or eliminating funding to effective, efficient public health programs targeting children will have negative impacts to child health status as well as population-level impacts lasting into adulthood.
- Eliminating after school supports (both CCAP and after school programming) will have negative social and academic outcomes particularly for at-risk populations.
- Reducing access to child care, and eliminating quality supports for providers (training fund and rate add-ons), will have an impact on child outcomes including their language, cognitive, social development, including and especially those children with special needs.
Additionally, the report examines the impact that these services have on the healthy development of children:
- While research shows clearly that poverty is the primary social determinant of health for families with children, Rauner’s policies push more workers in poverty through wage freezes and workforce reductions due to cuts.
- Increased co-pays and reduced access to affordable, low-cost child care will jeopardize the role of subsidized child care program in keeping parents in the workforce.
- Loss of relative care in the subsidized child care program will severely restrict the access to child care during non-traditional hours that research shows low wage workers need.
- Cuts to higher education reduce access to state education programs that improve chances of economic mobility.
- While research links violent environments and poverty, Rauner’s policies not only maintain families in poverty but also threaten to cut programs that would mitigate the impacts of violence for low-income children.