Fairfax County could begin removing children from child care subsidy rolls in October as the result of federal budget cuts and a refusal by the state to make up for the lost funding, county staff said this week.
The county budgeted for an enrollment of 6,750 children this fiscal year, but officials say the loss of federal money could eventually result in 1,900 children being eliminated from the program, according to the Fairfax Department of Family Services.
The Republican-led General Assembly shot down in late June a series of budget amendments from Gov. Tim Kaine that included $6 million for child care — the majority of which would have gone to Fairfax County. The vote sparked a dispute among local and state officials that broke along party lines.
“This is an issue where the state had the opportunity to fund it,” and did not, Fairfax County Executive Anthony Griffin said.
Board of Supervisors Chairman Gerald Connolly, who has railed Republican delegates for tanking the amendments, said the issue “shouldn’t be a political football.”
With a rocky revenue picture for the next fiscal year, it appears unlikely the county will use its own money to fill the gap. Kaine wrote this month that his office is “working hard to craft whatever solutions we can” to aid the program.
Republican legislators have countered that the county knew the funds were going to be lost, and didn’t do anything about it until the last minute.
