We need to ease impact on children, child care and families

Currently the Legislature is working remotely during the state of emergency via Zoom, a videoconferencing platform. Just like when we are physically in committee at the Statehouse, these warned meeting have witnesses. However now the testimony is predominantly about the stresses COVID-19 is putting on the Agency of Human Services.

These meeting are streamed live on YouTube and recorded so you can watch them later. Here is a list of the upcoming committee meetings with links to their corresponding YouTube channel: legislature.vermont.gov/committee/meetings/2020.

Last week my committee heard about the strains that COVID is putting on our foster care system.

In Vermont, when a child has been removed from a parent’s care and placed in custody of the Department for Children and Families, face-to-face parent-child contact can be ordered by the courts. DCF, as custodian, has a responsibility to ensure that this contact occurs.

In light of the COVID-19 emergency (and current CDC guidelines for social distancing), we need to address the challenges this present for parents, children and foster parents, some of whom want the in-person visits to continue, while others fear perpetuating the spread of the virus.

The Family Services Division is trying to establish family-time plans for each case with contact occurring virtually/remotely. Some cases require emergency court rulings to change visitation parameters and those are not happening expeditiously due to the “judicial emergency” the courts are under.

My committee will investigate whether a statute change or some other action is required to facilitate more efficient rulings in these emotional cases.

I believe legislation I introduced that passed the House in February, to create the Office of the Child Advocate, would have been helpful in developing a positive outcome in this situation. However, this legislation now sits in the Senate Health and Welfare Committee until we get back.

We are also looking at DCF’s temporary stabilization program for child care providers, early educators and the families being served. The primary concern is to ensure that we have a robust, functioning child care system on the other side of this crisis. The business model of child care programs relies heavily on tuition because there is such limited public investment.

The new guidance from the Child Development Division took effect on Monday, April 6. It directs the state to pay 50 percent of families’ tuition (or child care financial assistance co-pay) through the closure period (pivoting from the 100 percent that the state had been covering over the last few weeks). Families will need to pay 50 percent of their tuition in order to remain enrolled; if families choose to unenroll, then the state will pay 100 percent of the family’s tuition to the program so they can continue to pay staff, rent/mortgage, utilities, etc. But if the family unenrolls, that means that they could lose their spot at the program and go onto a waitlist.

If a family’s income has changed due to the pandemic and they’re not able to pay 50 percent, they could apply for the many income support programs that the federal government is rolling out, or they could apply for the child care financial assistance program to help them continue to make tuition payments. If they qualify with their new income level, they would then be responsible to pay 50 percent of any child care financial assistance program co-pay.

The health and financial impacts of this crisis will hit some families harder than others. Families need to make the decisions about payment that work best for their circumstances.

Last week, Monica Caserta Hutt, commissioner of the Department of Aging and Independent Living, provided an overview of the department’s top-tier priorities during this crisis, and it’s no surprise that the potential loss of front-line workers (personal care attendants, home-providers, etc.) due to the virus is of great concern.

We are exploring asking her department to provide some temporary financial assistance to families who are having trouble finding in-home care for their disabled children or an elderly relative. We are asking the department to keep a close eye on the workforce that is providing these services. We are scheduled to hear more this week on how we can make sure these systems of supports continue to function.

I recognize this is a stressful time for our community, families, and businesses. Be in touch if I can be of any assistance. You can reach me by phone at 802-730-7171 or email dnoyes@leg.state.vt.us.

Dan Noyes, a Democrat from Wolcott, also represents Belvidere, Hyde Park and Johnson in the Vermont House of Representatives. Email letters to news@newsandcitizen.com.