'It’s a full time job being homeless:' Lawmakers consider child care subsidy for homeless families

Kara Tolentino’s family has been homeless for nearly a year. She, her husband, and their two young sons live in a camper. There’s little room for the kids to play, and no bathroom, which makes potty training almost impossible.

One thing that’s made a difference as the family has worked to stabilize is access to child care.

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hild care is a necessity for many families in Washington state. But for families experiencing homelessness, access to child care can mean a stable environment their children may not otherwise have, and much-needed time for parents to find housing and work.

A state program called Working Connections Child Care subsidizes child care for low income families as long as they meet certain requirements, such as both parents working a certain number of hours a week.

For families experiencing homelessness who are trying to re-enter the workforce, there’s currently a four month grace period where they can access the funds for child care without having to meet those criteria.

But advocates say that’s not nearly enough time for many families to find a child care provider, let alone find work and stable housing.

They’re urging state legislators to extend the grace period to 12 months.

From Kirkland to camper

When Tolentino’s family first moved to Seattle from Kirkland they had a roommate and a house with a yard.

“We found this kind of dream home, kind of a unicorn, because it was a two bedroom in the Madrona area," Tolentino said.

The house wasn’t in the best condition, but it was affordable.

Things began to spiral when the family had issues with their roommate. Tolentino said it got ugly. They got the authorities involved and had the roommate removed from the home.

The roommate retaliated by calling child protective services, according to Tolentino.

She said the cases were closed, but it impacted the family and meant her husband was late to work, or missed work on occasion.

Her husband lost his job, they fell behind on rent, and the family was evicted.

That first night, they didn’t know what to do. They went to a playground near their house and just stood there, Tolentino said.

They considered riding the ferries overnight. They ended up staying in a friend’s carport while they waited to get into a shelter.

They’re now in a pop-up camper. Tolentino said it's been hard.

“No kid deserves to sit inside a camper for any amount of time during the day. There’s no room to play,” she said. “It’s not warm.”

And having young kids in tow can complicate things as families try to get back on their feet.

Everything takes twice as long, Tolentino said, and having toddlers at housing interviews is difficult.

Access to child care has made things easier for Tolentino’s family.

They qualified for the four month grace period for homeless families and were able to access funds through the state subsidy program.

Tolentino said it was a game changer.

"I could actually get things done," she said.

It gave her time to address her mental health.

“Everything was really bad with my mental health, and then you add in the eviction and not knowing where you’re going to sleep each night, and it’s been a lot,” Tolentino said.

“I just really started to crumble.”

Having her kids in child care meant Tolentino could go to therapy.

She said she’s doing better now than she has in a long time, and she’s hoping to re-enter the workforce eventually. It’s also helped with the housing search, and her husband is reliably able to show up for his internship with Washington State Ferries.

Beyond that, Tolentino said access to child care is good for her kids.

“I know that they’re going to have a better time there. I know they’re going to get some yummy food, I know they’re not going to be stuck in the rain, it’s not going to be cold,” she said.

And Tolentino said the provider picks up slack in ways that has helped the family get through.

“I know he’s going to get his baths, I know he gets those things and I’m just really grateful for it.”

"It’s a full time job being homeless"

Tolentino's family didn't meet requirements to continue accessing the state subsidy when their four month grace period expired. But they were lucky.

They were able to keep their child care because of private funds available through Child Care Resources, a nonprofit that serves Pierce and King counties and is part of Child Care Aware of Washington, a statewide resource and referral organization.

Those funds are available to help bridge the gap for families in King and Pierce counties if they don’t meet work requirements in time.

Others in the state don't have access to such safety net funds, according to Child Care Resources.

Tolentino said four months is not enough time for a family like hers to stabilize.

“It’s a lot. It’s a full time job being homeless. I never knew what that meant before.”

Natalie Lente is with Child Care Resources. She said the four month grace period has been helpful for homeless families, but she agrees it isn’t enough.

"What we've seen is that there is a cliff and there are many families that are falling off after that 120 days," Lente said.

“The largest reason is because the homeless situation has not been remedied and the family is not able yet to focus on work search or other kinds of things, because their highest priority is stabilizing housing.”

Due to what advocates are calling a child care crisis in Washington state, many families fail to find an eligible provider within the four months. For those families who do, about half fail to meet the requirements to continue receiving the state subsidy after the four month period is over, according to Child Care Aware of Washington.

For some, that could mean losing their child care.

Lente and other advocates are pushing for the grace period to be extended to 12 months, giving families more time to find child care, work and housing.

The ultimate goal, they say, is to provide kids with continuity and stability for a longer period of time.

A bill backed by Washington Governor Jay Inslee would see the grace period expanded to a year. It's passed the state house and is now in front of the senate.

But there's been some pushback among Republican representatives, including Tom Dent. Dent represents the state’s 13th district, including Lincoln, Grant, and Kittitas counties.

"I just don't think extending it to 12 months is the thing to do," Dent said.

Dent supported expanding the grace period to eight months. But he said tripling the length of the program is too much.

He said it's important to know a program is effective when using public funds.

According to estimates, extending the grace period to 12 months would cost the state an additional $3.7 million per year when fully implemented.

Dent wants to know if more time means more parents will re-enter the workforce and get back on their feet.

"We understand that people fall on hard times and it's through no fault of their own many times, but let's make sure that what we do to help them is helping them and not creating a secondary issue where we're enabling them," Dent said.

Dent said he wants to know if the state will get value for their money, if the program will be successful.

But when it comes to the impact on kids, Tolentino said society can pay now or pay later.

“When that child regresses or needs extra speech classes, or needs behavioral intervention it’s like, you’re going to pay anyway,” she said.

“So let’s do it now.”