DuPage County decision-makers could allocate $300,000 toward a two-year pilot program designed to assist parents and guardians with childcare costs who complete workforce training programs through the workNet DuPage Career Center.
The proposal is tied to the 2027 budget deliberations underway this fall in advance of the county’s new fiscal year that begins Dec. 1.
County Board Chair Deborah Conroy announced the potential pilot program as part of her formal fiscal year 2027 budget proposal in late September. Conroy’s spending plan, which the board will vote on in late November, totals $710.7 million. It reflects a $71.9 million property tax levy and a flat tax rate.
Intent behind the pilot initiative
Conroy and District 2 board member Yeena Yoo discussed the program proposal at the full County Board’s meeting Tuesday, Oct. 13. Yoo, who chairs the board’s Economic Development Committee, has also been involved in the preliminary planning.
At its core, Conroy said the proposal’s goal is to “allow parents to complete training, obtain, and keep new, better-paying jobs” through a “targeted approach.”
“When I presented my fiscal 2027 budget last month, I announced my plan to fund a childcare assistance pilot program,” Conroy said. “This proposed program will fill gaps experienced by DuPage residents enrolled in workNet job training classes.”
Yoo said she viewed the potential program as transformational and could serve as an opportunity to work through roadblocks that currently might be in place for parents juggling career advancement pursuits with childcare expenses.
“We’re taking this important step to help workNet clients access training and employment opportunities by reducing one of the most significant barriers that can make it difficult to get to work or stay in the workforce, and that is childcare,” Yoo said.
In speaking further to the cross-section of people the program could reach, Yoo added, “This is about economic development, and supporting working families, single parents, and DuPage parents who want to build a better future for themselves and their families.”
Program framework, eligibility requirements
Lisa Schvach, executive director of workNet DuPage, was on hand at the recent county board meeting to discuss some of the program parameters.
In addition to assisting existing workNet DuPage recipients, Schvach said the program has the potential of being a community outreach tool to people who might otherwise be unable to begin or complete the organization’s career services.
“We all know that childcare is a significant barrier, not only to employment, but to the steps that we provide, getting people to that point,” Schvach said.
While program details are still being fleshed out, Schvach, Conroy, and Yoo provided the general framework for the program, if the green light is activated for its implementation in the county’s next fiscal cycle.
Schvach pointed to multiple childcare funding support models that could be incorporated into the overarching program. Drop-in childcare and vouchers for families not already eligible for the state’s reduced-cost Child Care Assistance Program are two such examples.
Additionally, Schvach said emergency vouchers or co-pays and tuition differentials could be provided to workNet DuPage clients in extenuating situations.
“We don’t want them to get derailed, so to speak, on their progress toward their goals because of relatively small costs like that,” Schvach said. “The vision here would be applying some of these funds, in order to have that person continue on, despite some of those unexpected hurdles that might come up.”
There would be a number of prerequisites in place, Schvach said, including a requirement that recipients of childcare assistance be in good standing with workNet DuPage.
To receive financial assistance, parents and guardians would also have to have children attending a licensed provider in good standing with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.
Funding proposal explained at meeting
Based on the current proposal, $125,000 annually — or $250,000 throughout the two-year pilot period — would go directly toward childcare assistance. The remaining $25,000 annually, or $50,000 across the full two-year period, would be applied toward administrative staff costs.
Because the potential program is new, Schvach said the figures are fluid.
“It was challenging to come up with estimated impact … because there’s different models, and there’s different sliding scales,” she explained. “There’s different cost per children, number of children, different costs by the age of children, with infants being the most expensive. We tried to come up with some scenarios to give an idea.”
In terms of how the funding ultimately could be applied, Schvach added, “It’s really going to depend on who comes in, and we can’t predict exactly what their unique needs are going to be.”
County Board members weigh in
The program proposal was incorporated in Conroy’s routine chair’s report, and no formal board action was taken at the recent meeting.
But a number of county board members did pepper Conroy, Yoo, and Schvach with questions at the conclusion of the presentation and did weigh in on the program’s overarching goal.
District 4 board member Grant Eckhoff said he is interested in knowing how many total people would be served through the program if and when it is launched.
“I know there’s an issue out there, and that people need help,” Eckhoff said. “I’m just trying to figure out how many.”
Board member Saba Haider, who represents District 5, said she viewed the initiative as helping solve an issue in communities throughout DuPage.
“This is something that we definitely need,” Haider said.
Several board members, including Cindy Cronin Cahill (District 1) and Lucy Chang Evans (District 3) shared their own experiences of balancing childcare with career pursuits.
“As a mother of five children, I know how hard it was,” Cahill said.
A decade ago, Evans said she faced $800 weekly childcare costs for her three children in the summer months when school was not in session.
“That was more than my mortgage. I always had to go into the red every summer, but I made enough to cover my bills during the school year,” Evans said. “When you’re jobless, you’re already in the hole.”
If you have a story idea, we want to hear from you!