Jun 12, 2009 4:22 pm US/Central
Childcare May Be Cut As State Faces Budget Hole
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
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Under proposed Illinois budget cuts, child care services would be axed.
CBS
State lawmakers are struggling to fill a $7 billion dollar budget hole. And that's leaving thousands of parents worried for good reason. Under proposed budget cuts, they'll lose their child care.
As CBS 2's Mike Parker reports, it's the old doomsday scenario story, but who is to say that this time, doomsday won't come?
A Quinn administration official said Friday the General Assembly's budget "threatens to completely dismantle the child welfare system in Illinois."
"That's what this is all about," Gov. Pat Quinn said, "a fight for decency in Illinois."
A hard punch in that fight is a letter sent out Thursday night by the Illinois Department of Family Services, threatening to cut the DCFS budget by $314 million dollars if there's no new revenue, to lay off 38 percent of the department's workers, reduce foster care payments by 50 percent, and eliminate daycare funding.
The parents who rely on the child care at St. Mary of Celle's Family Center in Berwyn should be worried, even as their kids napped Friday, blissfully unaware.
Vanessa Alvarado is one of those parents. She's working as a bilingual elementary school teacher's aide, studying for her masters in teaching. For 9 months, her 3-year-old daughter, Kaylah, has been cared for at the center.
"Before, I was looking around and a lot of day cares are expensive," Alvarado said.
And, the mom has a message for state lawmakers.
"Don't cut the program which helps many parents that are in need of day care, and they basically need help," she said.
"Some of them will have to quit their jobs in order to stay home with their families," said center director Esmerelda Zepeda.
Gov. Quinn is putting the pressure on too.
"We help those who need a helping hand when times are tough," Quinn said. "We don't just throw folks overboard and go on our merry way. That's not what the people of Illinois want."
Meanwhile, Illinois GOP leader Christine Radogno says it is "cynical" and "morally unacceptable" for the governor to cause panic over social welfare programs.
She says that's the same game that former governor Rod Blagojevich played.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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