Over 5,500 kids are being cut from Nevada’s Child Care Development Program due to the exhaustion of COVID funds. The federal grant no longer covers all 13,000 children under the program, leading to stricter income requirements for new applicants. The state now requires families to fall below 41% of the state median income for new applications and 49% for renewals. This change, which took effect on Oct. 1, 2024, has resulted in approximately 250 kids a week losing child care assistance.
Lisa Swearingen, Deputy Administrator of the Department of Health and Human Services, emphasized the importance of child care assistance, stating that she herself benefited from it as a single mother. The decision to spend COVID funds on more children’s assistance was made by the previous administration, leading to the current reduction in program coverage.
Despite the sudden removal of assistance for many families, there have been efforts to re-evaluate cases like that of Heather Paley, who had her assistance reinstated after a News 4-Fox 11 report. Changes to the program are expected to occur, with case management transitioning in-house under Health and Human Services by June 2026.
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