Childcare out of reach for some
Macon families are having trouble finding and affording care for their children
By Jayla Moody
Jill Vanderhoek is married and living in Macon, Georgia. She and her husband both work full-time jobs and they are in desperate need of childcare.
The couple doesn’t have the flexibility needed to successfully take care of their youngest child, who is 2 ½ years old. They have been looking for childcare in Macon, but most places they have reached have a running waitlist.
A lot of the people they called said there wouldn’t be anything available until August.
“It wasn’t even a point of how much the daycare is costing, it was more of places saying they don’t have a space for my child,” Vanderhoek said.
Finding childcare services in Macon is usually done through word-of-mouth, professional contacts and the use of non-profit organizations. It can be tricky to even find childcare and then there is the added concern of affordability.
Vanderhoek serves as the co-chair of a non-profit initiative called Macon Aim.
“Part of that is to connect people to resources they need to help them with family success, self-sufficiency and child success.”
They work with the department of early care and learning (DECAL), who manages quality-rated child care based on a standard system.
“If the childcare facility meets the requirement, then it gets rated according to those levels,” Vanderhoek said. “I have been doing research on the different ratings on the services found in Macon.”
Macon Aim serves a lot of families that are typically low-income, and they look to help stabilize them by actively connecting them to resources.
In Vanderhoek’s own search for care, she started with her network and with what she was comfortable with and then evaluated what direction she wanted to go with. Most low-income families don’t have this option.
According to former school counselor Sheryl Worthy, most elementary schools have morning and afterschool care programs in place for the students.
“They’ll provide them with a snack and homework time, but they don’t usually go past 6 p.m.,” she said.
Ingram Pye Elementary School hosts an afterschool program for students in the first through fifth grade, and they help them with homework as well as provide interactive activities and games for them.
Living Sacrifice, a Macon church, hosts an afterschool care program for low-income families on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 3:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. These children are provided with transportation from school to the church for $20 a month per child, according to the senior pastor Dawn Hodges.
For families with children that aren’t old enough to attend school yet, the search becomes more challenging, especially for low-income parents.
The childcare services that Macon Aim offers are focused on children who are prenatal to 5 years old.
“We want to connect them to service so that they’re ready for school,” Vanderhoek said. “Some parents are looking for jobs, or don’t have any reserve money, so it’s hard for them to seek out childcare options.”
A lot of low-income families rely on subsidy grants such as Childcare and Parent Services (CAPS). This grant provides assistance to pay for childcare.
“ Eligibility to participate in CAPS-funded slots for children is based on the child’s U.S. citizenship or legal status, family’s Georgia residency, family unit’s income, and the need for care,” according to the policy.
The waiting period to receive this grant is about 45 to 90 days, and parents can’t apply until they are employed.
“There is a time barrier for getting a job, but you need help getting childcare for three to five months and employers may not hold your job for that long,” Vanderhoek said.
Macon AIM also assists families with transportation, because getting children to childcare is also difficult for low-income families. Early Head start is a program that also helps with options like these.
This program takes kids 6 weeks and older, but parents are responsible for transporting very young children, and this can be extremely challenging for parents without a car.
“It does feel like we have childcare facilities here in Macon, but as a parent, I don’t know if I would be comfortable using all of the facilities out there,” Vanderhoek said.
