Celebrating Wins & Giving a Call to Action

Dear Providers & Parents,

March is Women’s History Month. At the Mississippi Low Income Child Care Initiative, every month is a month to advocate for women! 

We’re taking the occasion of Women’s History Month to lift up some terrific wins for women and to point to work ahead of us that needs to be done to keep progress moving forward for MS women.

Last year, the State Legislature extended postpartum Medicaid benefits from 2 months to 12 months, an important improvement for MS women. This year, the MS Legislature approved presumptive eligibility in Medicaid for pregnant moms making it easier for her to get prenatal care earlier in her pregnancy. This is an amazing improvement for MS mothers and babies.

This year, the Mississippi Department of Human Services (DHS) will submit a new state plan in the Child Care and Development Fund, the federal program that funds our Child Care Payment Program (CCPP) that provides child care assistance for low income working families. There are new rules in this program that have recently been enacted to make sure states make child care services affordable and to urge states to make access to child care assistance easier for eligible families. We have an opportunity to weigh in on this process. 



DHS will hold public hearings on the new state plan in May. All of us can encourage DHS to do the following:

1. Enact presumptive eligibility: This would presume that an applicant for CCPP is eligible so she can be served immediately, and only subsequently have to submit documents to verify eligibility. This will make it possible for parents to go to work immediately and not have to wait the 60 – 90 days it may otherwise take to get onto CCPP. 
2. Make participation in any new quality rating/support system voluntary rather than mandatory: Costs involved are not yet quantified, and the subjectivity of CLASS assessments may result in uneven scoring. Providers need to be able to assess for themselves whether to participate in such a system, and not be mandated by DHS to participate, especially before potential consequences are clear.
3. Align child care assistance with education and job training leading to a higher paying job: Single moms seeking to earn enough money to support their families need child care to be a reliable support service while they pursue credentials or degrees required to enter higher paying occupations.
4. Encourage DHS to use all available TANF funds to increase investment in CCDF so more families can be served by CCPP: Currently only about 30% of our state’s eligible children are being served, and with the expiration of federal COVID child care relief funds, MS will need additional revenue to retain current service levels. TANF funds can do this, and it is federally allowable to transfer and use TANF funds to increase funding in CCDF. 

To sign up for updates on the child care state plan and how you can be involved, go to https://www.mschildcare.org/cclt/   

Thanks for all you do for MS women and families!

Carol Burnett

Executive Director

MLICCI's SUPER MOMS MINI CONFERENCE aims to address the unique challenges faced by single mothers and equip them with the tools and knowledge necessary to thrive in various aspects of their lives.

The conference will feature a series of dynamic workshops and keynote presentations led by experts in finance, entrepreneurship, and civic engagement. Attendees will have the opportunity to learn practical strategies for budgeting, saving, and investing, as well as exploring pathways to business ownership and financial independence.

REGISTER TODAY! The deadline is May 8, 2024.