INDIANAPOLIS — At the Statehouse, Governor Mike Braun's budget proposal is set to allocate more funds to the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF), which currently has a waiting list for assistance. A related bill aims to prioritize foster families for this vital support.
According to the Firefly Children and Family Alliance, foster children outnumber foster parents in Indiana. The lack of financial assistance for child care is a significant deterrent for families who might have previously considered fostering.
Tina Cloer, president of Firefly Children and Family Alliance, says the financial burden is costly.
"The difference between what they receive to foster kids and what the daycare would cost for two kids is $1,400 a month. There aren't very many families who can or will be able to take on that kind of expense to be able to care for somebody else's child."
"That's a mortgage," said WRTV's Meredith Hackler.
Cloer agreed, stating, "It's a mortgage."
Such expenses often drive foster parents to apply for CCDF funding.
Firefly serves 66 counties in the state and reports that there are approximately 8,200 families on the waitlist just in the communities they serve.
Foster mother Ashley Hutchinson is one of those parents still waiting for assistance.
"Currently, I have two children who are on the waitlist for Lord knows how long," Hutchinson said. "I have them in daycares now, and they are 40 minutes apart, so it's a really long commute in the morning."
Hutchinson endures this lengthy commute because those daycares are what she can afford.
House Bill 1248 would give foster parents, like her, priority for CCDF assistance — something she believes is essential for continuing to support children in need.
"I just had a friend who had to say no to a 9-month-old because she couldn't cover the deficit between per diem and childcare," Hutchinson said.
Organizations like Firefly emphasize that without investment in childcare, it is the children in need who will ultimately suffer.
"It is a real problem if there is nobody to take them," Cloer said. "They are in foster care because they need a safe place to be while their parents are addressing the issues that brought them into the child welfare system, so it's critically important that we have good families who are able to care for them."
CCDF funds comprise both state and federal money, and the exact dollar amount the program will receive is still being determined. House Bill 1248 is currently awaiting a vote in committee.
