Suffolk panel seeks focus on child care, early education

Suffolk's Welfare to Work Commission called on county lawmakers Thursday to form a special committee to make policy recommendations on child care, special education and early education issues.

In a presentation to the county legislatures's health committee in Hauppauge, commission members argued that there needs to be a more coordinated effort to ensure the county's 100,000 children younger than age 5 are being connected to pre-K and special-needs programs.

"Children are being seen but not heard," said Kathy Liguori, vice chairwoman of the Welfare to Work Commission, established in 2003 to provide recommendations to the legislature on social service programs for low-income residents.

"There needs to be more cohesive communication," Liguori said. "The more communication between the child specialist and the parent, the more the parent can advocate for their child."

Liguori and commission chairman Richard Koubek's request came after the commission released an 87-page study in June, examining the impact of cuts in child care funding on low-income working parents. Suffolk dropped about 2,000 children from the program in 2011 and 2012 after federal economic stimulus funding that had bolstered the program ran out.

The county has added back more than half of those children, but the commission has recommended a nearly $6 million increase in state and county funding to restore the program's previous enrollment levels.

In pushing for the creation of an early education commission, Koubek told legislators that advocating for additional child care funding has consumed the bulk of the commission's time. The commission has had little time to address other issues facing the working poor, such as affordable housing and health care costs.

"The task is just too great for the Welfare to Work Commission," Koubek said.

Legis. Monica Martinez (D-Brentwood), chairwoman of the legislature's human services committee and a member of the health committee, said she has been working with Koubek and Liguori on legislation to establish the proposed special panel.

Legis. Kate Browning (WF-Shirley) expressed concern about setting up a new task force.

Suffolk has numerous special committees and panels convened by the legislature to address issues ranging from teen pregnancy to senior services, but some lawmakers have questioned the productivity and usefulness of some of the panels.

"I feel like it's the mice on the wheel; you keep spinning and spinning," Browning said.

Liguori, who operates several child care centers on Long Island, defended the need for a separate panel. She said it could take the lead on coordinating training for child care agencies on how to spot children with early developmental disorders and aid the county in lobbying state lawmakers for additional child care funding.

By Laura Figueroa Hernandez

laura.figueroa@newsday.com@Laura_Figueroa

Laura Figueroa Hernandez is the White House correspondent and previously covered New York City politics and government. She joined Newsday in 2012 after covering state and local politics for The Miami Herald.