Parents in the labor force face numerous decisions when balancing their work and home life, including choosing the type of care to provide for their children while they work. Deciding which child care arrangement to use has become an increasingly important family issue as maternal employment has become the norm, rather than the exception. Child care arrangements and their costs are significant issues for parents, relatives, care providers, policy makers, and anyone concerned about children.
The Census Bureau has released a report entitled Who's Minding the Kids? Child Care Arrangments: Spring 2011 which is the latest in a series that dates back to 1985. This report describes the number and characteristics of children in different types of child care arrangements in the spring of 2011. Included in the report are references to the living arrangements, care provider characteristics, and the costs associated with providing care to our children.
While the report looks only at national data, there are reimbursement guidelines for Departments of Social Service to follow issued by the NYS Office of Children and Family Services. These reimbursement guidelines are established for five different groups of counties, of which Herkimer and Oneida Counties fall under Group 3. Group 3 includes:Allegany, Broome, Cattaraugus, Cayuga, Chautauqua, Chemung, Chenango, Clinton, Cortland, Delaware, Essex, Franklin, Fulton, Genesee, Greene, Hamilton, Herkimer, Jefferson, Lewis, Livingston, Madison, Montgomery, Niagara, Oneida, Orleans, Oswego, Otsego, Schoharie, Schuyler, Seneca, St. Lawrence, Steuben, Sullivan, Tioga, Washington, Wayne, Wyoming, and Yates counties.
Reimbursement rates are based on a combination of factors, including the type of provider, the age of the child, the duration of care, and if the child has any special needs. To read the guidelines, and see what the maximum reimbursement rates are for our region you can read the you can find the full document here, or you can click on the two pages below to see the maximum reimbursements guidelines for Group 3 counties for the years 2011 through 2013.
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