ACTION ALERTS!

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S LETTER

or an update on post-Katrina recovery and our current programs, read this letter from Carol Burnett, MLICCI’s Executive Director.

$30 MILLION IN UNSPENT TANF FUNDS
SHOULD BE USED FOR CHILD CARE
FOR THE WORKING POOR

Summary

Assistance with child care has been identified as the single most important factor in helping low-income families successfully leave welfare and maintain jobs. Adequate child care is also an important factor in economic development and job growth. Two federal programs are available for Mississippi to use for million of unspent TANF funds for child care.

DHS has added new barriers for subsidy eligibility that are not part of federal regulations. In so doing, DHS claims that there is no need for additional subsidized child care, when in fact, many families are in dire need of assistance and would be eligible under federal guidelines. MLICCI has conducted a survey of child care workers across the state demonstrating that the need is far greater than DHS asserts.    TOP  »

Read more about the TANF and CCDF programs and how to make them more effective:

• full background brief of this summary
• Stennis Institute Report: Mississippi Child Care Development Fund: Program Implementation, Evaluation and Impact Analysis.
  The report provides an excellent and comprehensive look at Mississippi’s child care subsidy program and makes recommendations for improvement.    TOP  »

You can help!

To support using TANF funds for child care, contact:

• Governor Haley Barbour,877-405-0733, P.O. Box 139, Jackson, MS 39205
• DHS: Executive Director Don Taylor, P.O. Box 352, Jackson, MS 39205, 601-359-4480
• Chairmen of the House and Senate Committees on Public Health and Welfare/Human Services:
• Alan Nunnelee, Chairman, Senate Committee on Public Health and Welfare, anunnelee@senate.ms.gov, Room: 212D-NC, PO Box 1018, Jackson, MS 39215, (601) 359-3234
• D. Stephen Holland, Chairman, House Committee on Public Health and Welfare, Room: 104B - NC, PO Box 1018, Jackson, MS 39215, (601) 359-3320, email: not available.
• To contact all members of the House and Senate Committees, see their directories (committee members are listed below):    TOP  »
• State Senate Directory (http://www.ls.state.ms.us/ss_membs.htm)
• Hob Bryan, Eugene S. Clarke, Bob M. Dearing, Joey Fillingane Hillman Terome Frazier, John Horhn, Cindy Hyde-Smith, Gary Jackson, Tom King, Travis L. Little, Nolan Mettetal, T. O. Moffatt, J. Ed Morgan, Willie Simmons, Billy Thames, Joseph C. Thomas, Bennie L. Turner
• State House Directory: (http://www.ls.state.ms.us/hr_membs.htm)
• Earle S. Banks, Jim C. Barnett, Sidney Bondurant, Billy Broomfield, Bryant W. Clark, Alyce G. Clarke, Mary H. Coleman, Dirk D. Dedeaux, Blaine Eaton, Chuck Espy, James Evans, George Flaggs, Jr., Jamie Franks, David Gibbs, John W. Hines, Sr., Bobby B. Howell, Joey Hudson, Chester Masterson, Bobby Moak, Pat Montgomery, Billy Nicholson, Diane C. Peranich, John Read, Thomas U. Reynolds, Omeria Scott, Jeffrey C. Smith, Carmel Wells-Smith    TOP  »

TAKE SURVEY ON CHILD CARE CERTIFICATE PROGRAM VIOLATIONS (CCDF)

MLICCI has been surveying child care providers to identify violations of state policy for the CCDF program. The aim of the survey is to document these types of infractions and offer remedies to make CCDF a more fair and effective program for parents and providers.

You can take the survey by downloading it and mailing it to MLICCI's office (PO BOX 204, BILOXI MS 39533-0204).    TOP  »