Suffolk's day care aid program facing budget crisis

State budget cuts are putting many Suffolk County parents in a tough spot: the assistance they get in paying for day care is about to run out. The county says there has been hundreds of new applicants

News 12 Staff

Dec 23, 2011, 11:45 PM

Updated 4,739 days ago

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State budget cuts are putting many Suffolk County parents in a tough spot: the assistance they get in paying for day care is about to run out. The county says there has been hundreds of new applicants for the program this year. A 20-percent spike in applicants coupled with decreased state funding is creating a day care crisis.
The state issues block grants to Suffolk to subsidize day care, but Albany's budget mess has seen the grants reduced three years in a row. Economists say this hurts not only parents trying to get quality care for their children, but also legitimate day care operators. "We don't want them [parents] going to some baby sitter who's not going to take care of them properly," says Suffolk Leg. Kate Browning (WF-Shirley). Parents such as Brianna Diaz, of Shirley, are wondering where to turn so they can know their children are safe while they're working. "This leaves me in a really bad situation," Diaz says. "I'm a single mother, so I need this and they're taking it away."