City of Alexandria, Virginia
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MEMORANDUM
DATE: JANUARY 22, 2014
TO: THE HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL
FROM: RASHAD M. YOUNG, CITY MANAGER /s/
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Consideration of a Request from the Children, Youth and Family Collaborative Commission for Permission to Submit Comments on Proposed Changes in State Child Care Policy.
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ISSUE: Request from the Children, Youth and Family Collaborative Commission (CYFCC) for permission to submit comments on proposed changes in Virginia Department of Social Services (VDSS) Child Care Policy.
RECOMMENDATION: That City Council approve the submission of comments by the CYFCC regarding the impact of proposed changes in VDSS child care policy.
BACKGROUND: The VDSS submitted a revised child care policy for public review at the Virginia Regulatory Townhall in November, 2013. The CYFCC voted on January 8 to request the approval of City Council to allow the Commission to submit the comments on the impact of the policy changes that are included in the attached letter (Attachment I).
DISCUSSION: The comments of the CYFCC regarding the proposed child care policy changes mirror exactly the City's position. The requirement that applicants for child care services be eighteen (18) years of age will severely limit the ability of teen parents to quality for child care which allows them to continue their education. If the teen's parent has to be the applicant, their income will have to be counted and, if the teen's parent does not work, the teen would not be eligible. The limit of 72 months (six years) will be a barrier to employment and eventual self-sufficiency for many parents and will be a threat to the safety of school age children who may be left at home, unsupervised, during after school hours. The third proposed revision requires child care applicants to apply for child support, whic...
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