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$26M Arkansas child care assistance expansion could shore up wait list

Federal child care block-grant funds totaling $26 million are coming to Arkansas. These resources should allow the Arkansas Department of Human Services to eliminate a waiting list for assistance with money to spare., according to a press release from Governor Asa Hutchinson's office.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KTHV) - Federal child care block-grant funds totaling $26 million are coming to Arkansas. These resources should allow the Arkansas Department of Human Services to eliminate a waiting list for assistance with money to spare., according to a press release from Governor Asa Hutchinson's office.

The money allows DHS to provide assistance for 3,800 additional children in low-income families.

"This increases the number of children served through the DHS Division of Child Care and Early Childhood Education by 70 percent. Currently, 2,056 eligible children are waiting for assistance because of past funding constraints." -press release

To be eligible for assistance, there must be at least one child in the household age 12 or younger. And the household must be below 200 percent of the federal poverty level. At least one parent must work at least 30 hours a week, go to school full-time or be enrolled in a certificate or training program.

The additional funding is part of the two-year budget deal that increased the Child Care Development Block Grant funding by $5.8 billion. Congress approved the bill, and President Donald Trump signed it in February.

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