Final Copy CCAP

I recently found out that the Governor of Minnesota, Tim Pawlenty, has made a budget proposal for the 2010 to 2011 biennium. This proposal would affect many families and would ultimately affect many children. This is because it recommends a 6.9 million reduction in early childhood programs. This mostly affects the Child Care Assistance Program, also known as CCAP. CCAP will lose about 1.9 million dollars in funding from the state. This is very concerning because there are over 6,000 families on the waiting list and over 900 would be cut. Along with that over 800 families would be forced to pay much higher co-pays to be able to stay in the program.

The Child Care Assistance Program is offered to families with children under the age of 13. To receive CCAP the family must have an income that is below the limits. Parents must also have a job, look for work, or attend school. Most families receiving CCAP use it to help pay for child care. “Minnesota’s Child Care Assistance Program Strengthens families and our state’s economy by making it possible for low-income workers to stay in the workforce,” according to Child Care Works. Since 2003 state spending for child care assistance has dropped from 121 million dollars to only 99 million as of last year. Now with the new budget proposal spending will decrease by about 6.9 million dollars. As Cisa Keller, a well educated person in this field, puts it, “In an informal survey of licensed child care centers in MN, 40% said that if the Governor's cuts happened they would either stop accepting families that used child care assistance or close their doors altogether.” And according to Child Care Works, “The child care industry itself also provides thousands of jobs to its employees.” This means that if further funding for programs like CCAP were cut, than in the future more jobs would have to be cut.

This program is something that my family has been on. As a single mother it helped my mom afford for me to attend daycare while she went to work. And now it helps my younger sister to go to daycare and to preschool. I asked my sister how she would feel if she couldn’t go to daycare anymore. She replied, “I would miss all of my friends and I wouldn’t get to learn stuff.” Without CCAP my sister would not be able to get an early childhood education and my mother would not be able to go to work. When I asked my mom how this would affect my sister, she replied, “she wouldn’t be learning and would sit in front of the TV, kids are supposed to be around other kids.” Since my mom has been on this program for over a year the chances of her being cut are very small, but she would have to pay a much larger co- pay. General costs for daycare are 300 dollars a week. For most families on the program it is either free or a small co-pay. If the new budget proposal goes through, people who don’t get cut from the program will have to pay co- pays of about 100 dollars. Many people on strict budgets and low incomes can’t afford to pay even this much. There is a mother whose daughter attends my sister’s daycare that is on CCAP. She is currently attending school to receive her bachelor’s degree and she has no family in Minnesota. She is just one of the many people who rely on the Child Care Assistance Program to create a better life for themselves and their families.

Stated in the Minnesota Budget Project, “In FY 1987, per pupil education spending in Minnesota was 11 percent above the national average. By FY 2006, Minnesota’s per pupil spending was equal to the national average.” This is extremely significant because it shows how much Minnesota has declined in the area of education. How could this happen you may ask? Well because of budget proposals like Tim Pawlenty is trying to pass. In my opinion we should be putting more money into programs like CCAP, which help young children receive an education and help families support their children and create a better world. According to Barack Obama, “One of the critical times to influence learning in a child’s life is the period before he or she reaches kindergarten. We will invest in early childhood education, by dramatically expanding Head Start and other programs to ensure that all of our young children are ready to enter kindergarten,” (Organizing for America 1). Clearly this means that Tim Pawlenty’s new budget proposal goes against the nation’s best interest. One of the nation’s goals is to prepare young children for kindergarten and Minnesota is cutting programs that would support families in doing so. The new budget proposal would not expand programs; it would cut them even further than they are now. This also goes against our nation’s goal of expanding early childhood programs.

On the other side, a budget does have to be created and there are going to be cuts to programs. But is just does not make sense why the governor would want to hurt children’s education, low income families, and jobs that employ thousands of caring people around Minnesota. CCAP serves more children than any other early childhood program, and any cuts made can never be recovered. To stop this from happening all you have to do is call (651) 296-3391 or email tim.pawlenty@state.mn.us and explain how you feel and what you would like to see happen.