Child care centers and households across Kentucky are bracing for a federal freeze on child care assistance after the Trump administration halted billions in state funding over fraud allegations.
Mahogany Livers, a working single mother in Franklin County, said without federal assistance, child care would cost her more than $700 a month, more than her car payment and nearly half of her monthly rent. She added with no family nearby to help look after her young son, she could lose her job.
"I would not be able to not only cover basic needs but I would have to choose between getting to a job that I have no child care for, or having access to healthy food choices," Livers explained.
So far, there have been no documented fraud cases in Kentucky but the freeze could still be extended to the state. Next week, U.S. Senate lawmakers will discuss the issue at a Judiciary Committee hearing. An estimated 34,000 kids in the Commonwealth rely on federal assistance to stay in child care centers.
Livers noted she had previously worked in the child care industry and saw many households unable to make job interviews because they lacked child care.
"Just the cycle in itself, of the system, just to take another look at it and really put themselves in families’ shoes about how it is just to stay afloat," Livers urged.
According to federal data, more than 1 million children nationwide receive a child care subsidy from the nation's Child Care and Development Fund program.