Suffolk County is OUT OF MONEY! That is what child care providers are being told when they call to find out why their October payments have not arrived! What this means is that the day care providers who care for children receiving subsidized payments for child care are NOT getting paid! Suffolk County has stated that emergency funds are being transferred but this process takes three weeks. Additionally The NY Office of Child and Family Services decided that October would be a good month to implement their new time sheet attendance program (designed to hold clients and providers more accountable for fraud and to link the agencies involved) which has resulted in an additional delay for processing checks to providers.
This is how I make my living. I own a child care center and most of my clients have their child care paid for by the county. The county is telling me they are out of money to pay me. So here I am a week before Christmas without a pay check. All my bills are late, I have already paid 100's of dollars in late fees to utilty companies and credit card companies because of the delayed processing due to the new program. I face another month of late payment charges and my own children will have NO CHRISTMAS! Yet everyone who works for the county, the department of social services, the office of child and family services and those clients receiving social services benefits will be enjoying their holidays while I ponder whether or not I have to apply for emergency food stamps.
Was it a surprise the county was going to run out of money? They couldn't start this tranfer before it was too late for providers to have their payments before the holidays? Was October really the best time to set in motion a new program filled with bugs and loopholes that need to be worked out?
The most important question is...Who is going to be held accountable for the financial mess this situation has left the providers in? Will the county pay all our late fees for the past three months? Will the state? How can these agencies promise services to people that cannot pay for? Every politician involved in this mess should be voted out of office! Starting at the top!
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