Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Childcare topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Lawmakers, universities back expanding Purchase of Care to full-time college students with children
Summary
Sen. Cruz told the committee Senate Bill 2 94 would expand Purchase of Care eligibility to full-time degree-seeking students and exclude grants and certain loans from income calculations; representatives from Delaware Tech, University of Delaware and Delaware State University testified in support.
Senate Bill 2 94, presented by Senator Cruz, would expand Delaware’s Purchase of Care childcare subsidy to parents enrolled full time in postsecondary degree programs. Cruz said the change targets ‘‘ALICE’’ households (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) and is designed to remove a barrier that can prevent student parents from beginning, continuing or completing higher education.
Cruz said the bill limits expansion to degree-seeking students pursuing an associate or bachelor’s degree and proposes that grants, scholarships and certain student loans not be counted as income for eligibility calculations. Committee members asked whether Purchase of Care is administered by the Department of Health and Social Services; staff confirmed DHSS administers the program and that eligibility would generally mirror existing Purchase of Care rules, including tiered benefits based on income.
Public testimony was uniformly supportive. Brian Shirey, general counsel for Delaware Tech, and David Benson, director of legislative affairs at the University of Delaware, both urged the committee to release the bill from committee, saying it would remove barriers to education and workforce development. Katerra Allen (speaking on behalf of Delaware State University) gave a personal account of a scholarship that covered child care and tuition and said that direct child-care support enabled a student-parent to return and complete a degree.
A committee member noted a fiscal estimate in the packet that assumed roughly 23 eligible households, with staff cautioning that the estimate assumed all eligible households would enroll immediately, which may not occur. Committee members acknowledged that releasing the bill from committee expresses conceptual approval but that appropriations and funding decisions would follow in the budget process.
No vote on SB 2 94 was recorded during this meeting.
