news-record.com

GREENSBORO — The waiting list of families with children who need day care but can’t afford it will be cut by half in Guilford County.

After learning that $2.59 million in stimulus funds will arrive soon for child care, the Guilford County Department of Social Services this week mailed 400 letters to tell parents who had applied for assistance.

“They originally told me that it would be six months before I got some help,” Rhonda Scott, 38, said of what she was told by social services workers when she sought help with day care for her 2-year-old son.

Scott said she had just received her final notice from her son’s day care, which costs $130 a week.

“I was told that if I didn’t (pay), it would be my last week at school,” she said.

Under the plan, Scott’s day care bill will be at least partially paid from September to May. Families receive money based on their income and may cover all or part of child care.

Guilford’s share is part of $56 million that North Carolina received for child care as a part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act through the Division of Child Development and the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services.

Each month, Guilford County provides assistance to keep about 5,000 in child care. Families must meet criteria such as a monthly earning limit, and guardians must be seeking a job, employed or in school, among other standards.

“We’ve had a lot of parents to call that are getting jobs, which is really good,” said Denise Hill, who oversees child care assistance programs for the county.

Problems arise when parents must find out what to do with their children while at work.

“I could either not work and take care of my son, or work and not afford day care,” Scott said.

Hill knows about the issue. The stimulus money, she said, “puts the parent with child care needs on an even playing field.”

The money was divided based on the existing system to distribute state funds among local social services departments. Counties with especially long waiting lists, such as Guilford, received extra money.

“I’m glad to see that it’s coming to touch something in my life,” Scott said.

Contact Gerald Witt at 373-7008 or gerald.witt@news-record.com