Day care dilemma
$12M in fed aid in doubt amid pols’ dispute
ALBANY — A dispute between Gov. Cuomo and the state Assembly over criminal background checks has jeopardized up to $12 million in federal day care funds — potentially hitting poor, minority and immigrant children hardest, the Daily News has learned.
The disagreement centers on a program that provides federal funds through the state to people providing day care to a relative inside the home.
As part of a decision to reauthorize a Child Development Block Grant program in 2014, the feds imposed new requirements that states needed to adopt to remain eligible for the money. New York must do so by Sept. 30 or hope it can convince the federal government to grant another short-term waiver. Otherwise, the state faces fines of up to $12 million, officials said.
Cuomo and the Assembly Democrats this year each introduced bills to deal with the issue, but have been unable to reach an agreement.
Assembly Social Services Committee Chairman Andrew Hevesi (D-Queens) and advocates like the Empire Justice Center say the governor’s bill would expand criminal background checks beyond what federal law requires and could put immigrants on the radar of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Neither the governor nor the Assembly would require a relative like a grandmother who is providing child care to a family member in the home to undergo a federal criminal background check.
But unlike the Assembly bill, which passed on June 20 but was not taken up in the Senate, Cuomo’s legislation would require any relative over 18 living in the house but not providing child care to undergo a background check.
“That information would then be in the hands of the federal government, which is accessible by Immigration Customs Enforcement … and can be used as justification for deportations out of the U.S.,” Hevesi said.
The Assembly bill includes background checks for workers at state licensed childcare facilities, but not unlicensed relatives living in a home with the child for whom they are providing care.
The governor’s bill, he said, would also deny due process by prohibiting any appeals by family caregivers should the state deny care for a kid because of the results of a background check on one of their relatives.
The impact could hit poor, minority and immigrant families particularly hard, Hevesi and advocates said.
Hevesi ripped Cuomo for pushing hard for the bill, given that the governor has been vocal in his criticism of ICE and his call for due process when it comes to deportation efforts.
“Apparently, due process and fair hearings are crucially important when Gov. Cuomo is on a national media tour,” Hevesi said.
Cuomo aides say the governor is simply trying to make sure the state is compliant with the federal rules.
Cuomo spokesman Richard Azzopardi said, “We are very sympathetic to the concerns raised by the Assembly” and argued that that the governor’s bill “was based on the most recent, crystal clear direction” the state received from federal officials.