Suffolk anticipates $8M child care deficit

More than 1,900 children enrolled in government-subsidized child care in Suffolk County could be dropped from the program due to cuts in state aid and increased demand for services spurred by the weak economy, county officials said.

Social Services Commissioner Gregory Blass told the legislature's Human Services Committee meeting Monday that the enrollment cuts are among the options for dealing with a projected $8 million shortfall in its child care assistance fund, caused by a cut in state grant money and rising demand for services from low-income families.

"We're at a crossroads now with child care expenditures," Blass said.

The number of children in the program rose from 3,746 to 5,981 in the yearlong period that ended in December. State funding fell to $30 million from $32.7 million over that period.

If Suffolk continues accepting eligible children at its current rate of 144 per month, the program would need $38 million in funding this year -- $8 million more than state funding would cover and a sum unlikely to be found in the coffers of the cash-strapped county, Blass said.

Cost-cutting options that Blass and his staff discussed included the tightening of income requirements to narrow the field of eligible applicants. Reducing the eligibility threshold from the current 185 percent above the state poverty line to 125 percent would remove 1,991 children from the program, for an estimated savings of $3.7 million a year, department projections show.

Another tactic could be modification of the income requirement to 150 percent of the poverty level, which would cut 1,400 children from the program and slash $2.2 million in annual costs, officials said.

A family of four would have to earn less than $33,881 to classify for aid under the 125 percent benchmark and $40,657 under the 150 percent benchmark, using poverty guidelines set by the state. The state classifies a family of four with income below $27,105 as meeting poverty guidelines for government aid.

The last time the county had a waiting list for child care services was May 2010.

"No decision has been made," Tom Grecco, assistant division administrator for the county's Division of Client Benefits, told the committee. "We try to forewarn you what we're dealing with before it hits."

Discussion of cuts comes as Suffolk grapples with a projected $530 million budget shortfall through 2013.