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Q&A
Discussion on reinstatement of work requirements and impact on child care vouchers
1:50:05
ยท
3 min
Council Member Restler inquires about the reinstatement of mandatory work requirements and their potential impact on child care vouchers. Commissioner Park and Administrator French provide details on the implementation timeline and process.
- Work requirement engagement process to begin next month, with a gradual rollout
- Sanctions for not meeting work requirements are imposed on the city, not individuals
- The city is required to reinstate these requirements by state and federal regulations
- Concerns raised about potential loss of child care vouchers for 50,000 families
- Discussion of the gradual nature of the process and its impact on child care vouchers
Lincoln Restler
1:50:05
I am just following up on Chair Stevens' smart questioning and leadership, very concerned about the implications of the mandatory work requirements coming back into effect and what that's going to mean for our child care voucher system.
1:50:21
Based on estimates that I've heard from other city agencies, they think we're going to see 50,000 families, 50,000 kids that have child care vouchers today lose their vouchers next year, lose their child care next year as a result of this shift in policy.
1:50:35
So I just would like to ask plainly, when will the work requirements begin to take effect?
1:50:42
Is there a date certain?
1:50:44
And what deadlines is the city legally obligated to meet based on either state or federal requirements?
Molly Wasow Park
1:50:53
We will be rolling out our mandated engagement requirements which is as Administrator French said is something that we are required to do.
1:51:05
The process will begin next month not for every client all at one time, but we will be beginning next month.
1:51:13
Clients will then have time before we get to any kind of consequences, but that engagement process will really start next month.
1:51:28
I'm trying to think about the best way to describe exactly how the sanctions work.
1:51:35
Sanctions get imposed for not meeting work requirements get imposed on the city, not on individuals.
1:51:42
So we deadlines coming up for that in the fall.
Scott French
1:51:46
Sure.
1:51:46
And I think what I can just add is this is determined by the state and the federal government, so it's not something that the city can electively decide we don't want to do.
1:51:58
We have been waiving these requirements for many of the past years when the rest of other states have implemented them.
1:52:06
But as the commissioner said, we've come to the point in time where the state has made it clear and the federal government has made it clear that we need to reinstitute these to follow, right, compliance with those regulations.
1:52:16
And that if the city failed to do that, there could be significant fiscal implications for the city through fines and other things by not meeting those requirements.
1:52:25
So we put it off as long as we can, but we are at the point where, right, we are required to put this forward.
Lincoln Restler
1:52:32
But is it fair to to say that what I think you're hearing is a a process that's gonna begin in April, sanctions are happen over time, and it's a gradual ramp up.
1:52:41
This isn't like April 1, a 180 degree shift in policy?
Scott French
1:52:45
Yes.
1:52:45
And that's also taken into account
Lincoln Restler
1:52:47
Yes to what I said?
Scott French
1:52:47
Yes.
1:52:48
It's gradual over time.
1:52:49
Right?
1:52:50
There will be tens of thousands of people we need to engage in this That's also been taken into account in our trends and anticipated eulage of mandatory child vouchers, which right, we have discussed closely with our partners at ACS.
1:53:03
So it's also not immediately 50,000 vouchers or whatever the number may be has to transition to us.
Lincoln Restler
1:53:10
It is something over
Eric Lee
1:53:10
time.
1:53:11
We've
Lincoln Restler
1:53:11
rumblings that OMB is insistent on stopping recertifications of childcare vouchers as of April 1, which could have extreme disruptions for families in the middle of the school year.
1:53:26
Have you been involved in conversations to that effect?
Molly Wasow Park
1:53:30
No, I have to defer to our colleagues at ACS on that.
Lincoln Restler
1:53:33
I understand it's primarily a question for them, but you all are in it's all interconnected here.