Allegheny County expands pilot child care program by $500K

More local families will see help with their child care expenses, thanks to additional funding from Allegheny County for a pilot program.

Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato announced Wednesday the county would be adding $500,000 this year to the Child Care Matters pilot program. The program, launched in 2022, provides money for low- and middle-income families to help offset child care costs.

Innamorato, who took office last week, said covering more people’s child care costs is important for workforce development and the region’s economy, in addition to being a boost to the families in the program.

“If working families are staying on the sidelines, we will continue to have one of the slowest post-pandemic economic recoveries,” she said, during a visit to Shady Lane preschool in Pittsburgh’s Point Breeze neighborhood.

Allegheny County’s unemployment rate is near historic lows, but government entities, businesses and others are struggling to fill many open positions, Innamorato said.

This is Innamorato’s second announcement in as many weeks aimed at tackling workforce shortages using county programs and funds. Last week, she announced a plan to increase the minimum wage for some county workers — up to $22 an hour by 2027 — and boost vacation time in hopes of filling more than 1,000 open county jobs.

The Child Care Matters program serves 357 families in Allegheny County. Innamorato said the additional money will clear the program’s waitlist and bring in at least 28 new families. She said it’s not yet clear how many more families the pilot program will serve as costs are difficult to estimate because of varying levels of need for each family.

Innamorato encouraged more families to apply and said she hopes Wednesday’s announcement will let people know the county can help cover their child care costs. The county is hoping to serve families that are between 200% to 300% of federal poverty guidelines.

Rochelle Salih is assistant director for family services for the Early Learning Resource Center, a state initiative that connects families with child care providers. She said there is an enormous need for more child care funding.

“We have so many families that are just over the income-gap lines, and those families are struggling,” said Salih, adding many families must make tough decisions between staying in the workforce or taking care of their children.

The average weekly cost to care for an infant in Pennsylvania is over $277, according to the Economic Policy Institute, a nonpartisan think tank.

Local nonprofit Trying Together reports there are more than 14,000 children in Allegheny County who are eligible for the state child care subsidy program, which is different than the county’s pilot program. However, only about 4,500 children up to age 5 are enrolled in the state program because of a lack of state and federal funds.

Innamorato said she hopes to extend the county’s pilot program beyond this year and expand its scope through working with local corporations, nonprofits and foundations.

The Child Care Matters program budget before the additional funds was $5 million and is completely paid for with federal American Rescue Plan dollars, officials said.

The county is using unused American Rescue Plan funds for the additional $500,000 because of other plan programs came in under budget, Innamorato said.