April 16, 2024
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Bush highlights affordable child care

Child Care Asistance Program has new co-pay cap

By Lake County Journal staff report

Senate sponsor Melinda Bush, D-Grayslake, speaks on the chamber floor Friday at the Capitol in Springfield about the Reproductive Health Act. The bill, which repeals and replaces current abortion law in Illinois, was passed by the Senate late Friday. The bill now goes to Gov. J.B. Pritzker. (Photo courtesy)

GRAYSLAKE – Many families have faced financial burdens and tough decisions about whether to return to work or provide care for their children, but state Sen. Melinda Bush, D-Grayslake, wants people to know that under a new child care co-pay cap, people can do both.

Families who use the Child Care Assistance Program will have their child care co-pays capped to $1.25 a month for the first two months of this year.

“Some families have had their hands tied during the COVID-19 pandemic. They needed to return to work but couldn’t afford to send their children back to child care due to being furloughed or laid off,” Bush said in a news release. “Thanks to the new cap on the [child care] co-pay, more parents will be able to provide for their families while having the peace of mind their children are being taken care of.”

The co-pay cap is applicable in January and February. The Child Care Assistance Program is administered by the Illinois Department of Human Services and provides access to affordable, quality child care for low-income and working-class families. This allows family members to continue working or attending school without having to worry about how they will pay for the care of their children.

“The co-pay reduction will take an enormous weight off the shoulders of working-class families,” Bush said. “Thousands of families will now be able to return to some sense of normalcy.”

Information regarding CCAP eligibility, including how to apply, is on the Illinois Department of Human Services website, www.dhs.state.il.us/.

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