Indiana baby remains in foster care as mother cannot afford childcare
An Associated Press analysis published this week found that hundreds of thousands of children were sitting on childcare assistance waitlists in 23 states and the District of Columbia as of this spring. In three additional states, many eligible families who applied were turned away rather than added to a waitlist.
Indiana’s childcare assistance program ran short on funds and began waitlisting families who had qualified for the subsidy, according to the analysis, which was reported by Moriah Balingit. The cases Balingit documented in Indiana include a mother of two who needs a full-time job to keep up with her bills but cannot afford full-time childcare. A medical technician stopped buying groceries and turned to food banks so she could pay for her infant’s care.
A baby remained in foster care even after his mother completed the state-required steps to bring him home. She had found a job, as the state required, but could not afford his childcare.
It is hardly news that childcare is expensive, the AP noted, straining the budget of even middle-class parents. The government-funded childcare assistance program is intended to drastically reduce the childcare bills of needy parents so they can work or attend school.