Human Interests » Child Care

Need help paying for child care?

davidt — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 22:08:13 +0000

Are you a working parent who needs help paying for child care? The City of Seattle may be able to help. The Seattle Human Services Department’s Child Care Assistance Program helps low- and moderate-income working families pay for child care for children ages one month to 13 years. Mayor Mike McGinn recently announced that the program has more than 300 slots available. The amount of payment from the City varies according to the income of the family, age of the child, and hours of care needed. The City typically pays between 25% to 70% of a standardized rate, and the family is responsible for paying the difference. To qualify you must:

Live within Seattle city limits
Be employed and or enrolled in educational/job training
Have children under 13 years of age
Use a provider contracted with the City of Seattle
Not be eligible for any other child care subsidy program
Meet income guidelines based on family size.

For income guidelines, please see our Web site. For information on how to apply please call 206-386-1050.

Mayor’s Proposed Budget preserves human services

davidt — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 18:19:13 +0000

Mayor Mike McGinn presented his Proposed 2013-2014 Budget to the City Council on September 24^th. The budget preserves direct human services and adds funding for inflation increases for agencies, child care assistance, homeless families, domestic violence prevention, a pilot program to help young adults of color find career path jobs. For details about the budget and a link to the Mayor’s budget speech click here.

The City Council will hold two public hearings on the Proposed Budget, one on October 4th at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall, and one on October 25^th, same time and location. The Council will review the Human Services Department’s budget on October 2^nd beginning at 9:30 a.m.

Funding for child care, homeless families in Mayor’s budget

davidt — Fri, 21 Sep 2012 23:31:43 +0000

On Wednesday, Sept. 19, Mayor McGinn announced new investments in human services as part of his 2013-14 Proposed Budget, including an expansion of a City program providing child care to low- and moderate-income families and increased assistance to homeless families with children. The proposed budget also includes an increase in funding for human services providers to cover the costs of inflation. For details, please see this press release. To view a video of the press conference, click here.

‘Farm to Table’ program continues!

davidt — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 21:48:36 +0000

The City of Seattle’s Farm to Table Project will continue to link senior meal sites and child care programs to local area farms. The goal of these efforts is to get local, organic produce into some of Seattle’s most under-served communities. With continued funding from the City of Seattle Human Services Department (HSD) and community partnerships, the program, launched through a Communities Putting Prevention to Work grant, will be continued. For more information please contact Maria Langlais at maria.langlais@seattle.gov or Natalie Thomson at Natalie.thomson@seattle.gov.

Mayor promotes city’s free preschool programs

davidt — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 20:35:32 +0000

Joined by educators and children of Seattle’s La Escuelita Bilingual School, Mayor Mike McGinn announced today (Aug. 31) openings in the City of Seattle’s free and reduced-fee preschool programs. The Seattle Human Services Department is now enrolling 4-year-olds from low- to moderate-income families in free or low-cost, high-quality preschool programs. Step Ahead and the Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP) still have free or reduced-cost spaces available for more than 250 children at 21 sites in southeast and southwest Seattle this school year. Step Ahead is funded by the Seattle Families and Education Levy, and ECEAP is funded by the state of Washington. For more information about these programs — locations, eligibility and applications — call 206-386-1050. For more information please visit this Web site.

Free & low-cost preschool available

davidt — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 22:28:00 +0000

Seattle Human Services Department preschool programs are now enrolling 4-year-olds from low- to moderate-income families. Seattle Step Ahead and the Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP) still have free or reduced-cost spaces available for more than 600 children at 21 sites in southeast and southwest Seattle this school year. Click here to see the complete news release.

Families & Education Levy workshops begin in June

davidt — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 18:20:23 +0000

The City of Seattle’s Office for Education is sponsoring a series of more than 20 workshops beginning on June 23rd, 2011 for anyone interested in the implementation of the proposed Families & Education Levy renewal strategies. Registration is required. For a schedule of workshops see this Web link.

HSD to reorganize to better meet needs of community

davidt — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 00:08:15 +0000

Beginning on March 1, 2011, the Seattle Human Services Department will realign its operations to better meet the needs of constituents and the community. The work of former divisions including Youth Development & Achievement, Early Learning & Family Support, and Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault Prevention will be restructured to become two divisions: the Community Support & Self-Sufficiency Division and Youth & Family Empowerment Division. The Community Support & Self-Sufficiency Division will encompass all of HSD’s programs that assist individuals and families as they work toward self-sufficiency. The Youth & Family Empowerment Division will take a more holistic approach to providing services from early childhood to young adulthood, including paths to post-secondary training – college, vocational training, apprenticeships into skilled trades, or other employment. For more details about these and other changes please read this special edition of Life Lines newsletter.

New Seattle Foundation Web Site – the Giving Center

davidt — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 17:43:58 +0000

The Seattle Foundation, one of the nation’s largest community foundations, recently launched a new Web site, the Giving Center. The site provides information for prospective donors on 675 nonprofits doing a wide range of work. Financial and evaluation information is included for each organization described. Launch of the site was covered in the Seattle Times and New York Times.

Report: number of children in poverty rising

davidt — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 16:29:20 +0000

The 2010 Child and Youth Well-Being Index is an analysis by the Foundation for Child Development. Among other findings, the report shows that the number of children living in poverty this year in the U.S. will climb to 22 percent, the highest in two decades.