Proposed Child Care Cuts Spark Fiery Protest

“Paula Renee is four and Wyatt Parker is two. I’m a single mother, I work full-time, and we have a happy life,” Angela Alway said.

Alway is protesting a new proposal that may turn her life upside down.

“Without affordable child care, I couldn’t work during the daytime. It’s sad to say, but I might have to move back in with my parents,” she said.

A crowd of more than twenty protestors stood their ground outside Social Services in Indio — against Governor Brown’s proposal to cut funding for subsidized child care.

Of the $4.2 billion in proposed spending cuts, more than half will target health and human services and child care programs. There were deep cuts to CalWorks — a program that provides cash assistance to more than one million low-income children while their parents work. The governor wants to cut the average monthly cash grant from $463 to $392.

Thousand Palms Child Care Center underwent major renovations to provide a better facility. The grand opening is just weeks away.

“It would mean that we would probably not be able to operate in a few years,” the executive director of the center, Scheryl Rhodes, said. “It’s absolutely devastating. I’ve been in business for 27 years.”

“The budget issue is really tough right now, so everybody is working together to create necessary cuts at this point to try to see what we can help with,” Social Services Regional Manager Israel Vasquez said.