PITTSBURGH — A $500,000 investment will go toward the Allegheny County Child Care Matters pilot program, County Executive Sara Innamorato announced Wednesday.
The investment will clear a waitlist of 28 qualifying families and open up spots for additional families to take advantage of the program.
“I want to thank the hard-working staff at the County Department of Children Initiatives and Department of Human Services who administers this program through the Early Learning Resource Center. Your passion for helping families thrive comes through in your work every day. I’m delighted to announce an investment of an additional $500,000 in this important pilot program – I know there will be some very happy phone calls to families to tell them they are off the wait list and will have access to child care. As I mentioned in my inauguration speech, barriers to accessing child care is an urgent economic issue and I pledge to work with the private sector, foundations, and other partners to find more regional solutions far beyond just this pilot program to making quality child care accessible to working families,” County Executive Innamorato said.
In April 2022, Allegheny County’s Department of Children Initiatives, in partnership with the Early Learning Resource Center, began piloting a county-level subsidized child care program for Allegheny County’s working families called Allegheny County Child Care Matters. Families that meet Pennsylvania’s Child Care Works eligibility requirements for work or education hours but incomes exceed the 200% of the Federal Poverty Income Guidelines (the Child Care Works maximum) while still being under 300% qualify for the program, officials said.
Families contacted the Early Learning Resource Center to determine eligibility, and quickly filled all the slots in the pilot program. That is when the County began tracking a waitlist.
The County Department of Children Initiatives estimates up to 15,000 children in Allegheny County could qualify for this program, highlighting the urgent need to find additional solutions for working families.
The average cost for an infant care is $237 per week in Pennsylvania. Without some financial relief, the cost of child care can force people out of the workforce, continuing the region’s slow post-pandemic economic recovery, officials said.
This investment is paid for using available funds from the American Rescue Plan.
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