Working parents in Onondaga County who send their children to daycare could be getting some relief.
A program that's helped curb those costs around New York State could be coming to Onondaga County. The Workforce Development Institute (WDI) gives subsidies to families around New York, who meet income requirements and have children under 13 enrolled in daycare. The WDI program is available in approved counties by the State Legislature and parents must meet the income guidelines of under 275 percent of the Federal Poverty Level. The organization suggests that parents from Onondaga County write letters to their local state representatives and the governor to bring the program.
"The childcare subsidy program - we see that as a workforce support," program director Lois Johnson said. "It supplements the work that we do to keep families and workers and businesses productive and economically successful."
Johnson said she sees a need for the program in Central New York. The average annual cost to send a child to daycare in Onondaga County is $10,491, according to the Workforce Development Institute.
But for working mother Trisha Botty, even that's a discount.
"When I tell people what I pay, I think they are frightened and they should be," Botty said. "Because I pay $440 a week to put two of my kids through daycare, which calculates to about $22,000 a year out of my income."
The program is available in Albany, Rensselaer, Schenectady, Saratoga, Oneida and Monroe Counties. Chip Zombick, a horse trainer in Oneida County, said that he wouldn't be able to buy supplies for his business without assistance for childcare.
"I go through a few thousand dollars a month in expenses and me sitting home watching my child is not going to help the economy," Zombick said.
About 62 percent of children in New York under the age of six have both or their only parent in the workforce, the WDI estimates.
Zombick said that he and his wife would fall behind on payments without any assistance on childcare costs.
"$175 dollars a week for daycare," Zombick said. "This month, we wouldn't pay the electric bill. Next month, we wouldn't pay the cable bill. Things were just tight. There was never enough money and with the subsidy, my bills are caught up."
