it's no secret New Jerseys high cost of living can make it hard for families to meet their basic needs new research by the Ruter Center for Women and Work finds changing the income requirement for child care subsidies would be a big help giving tens of thousands of low-income working families the support they need because many households fall into a gap making too much money to qualify for subsidies but too little to afford the high cost of child care a bill in the legislature could change that raven Santana has the story as part of our new reporting project Under the Dome exploring the state government and its impact on New [Music] Jersey it gets emotional for me because I started this business um as a single parent i had a um a provider like me i was working three jobs and she was my savior shireen Williamson wiped away her tears as she thought about the challenges she faced as a single mother trying to afford child care it was these struggles that inspired her to open an inhome daycare in Orange where she could give back by providing affordable highquality care to children from families who rely on subsidized child care unfortunately with subsidy they're not looking at the bills that you pay they're looking at your income you know when when you're a single parent and you have to take care of a child and you have to pay rent and you have to pay utilities um and food and you know transportation they don't put all of that in in in the process and so you're denied and it just leaves parents you know struggling williamson has worked with families who earn too much to qualify for child care subsidies but not enough to afford the typical hourly rate for care in response she has offered discounts and in some cases provided care free of charge she estimates that her generosity has cost her over $80,000 in lost income as a result of her selflessness and deep concern for the family she helps she now finds herself behind on her mortgage payments and struggling to meet the basic needs of her own family i am behind on my mortgage yes I am a few months behind on my mortgage becky Lo Conroy a research analyst at the Rucker Center for Women in Work says according to her research access to reliable and affordable child care remains a persistent challenge for many parents in New Jersey the amount of the subsidy parents get varies depending on factors including income and the number of children for example a family making $52,000 with two kids would owe a provider $130 a month for care and the state would cover the rest right now New Jersey is at 200% of the federal poverty line which in some states that covers a lot of people but in a state like New Jersey that has a very high state median income but also where the cost of living is very high lots of families do not qualify for subsidy a new report that Lo Conroy co-authored underscores the potential benefits of adjusting income eligibility for child care subsidies a change that could help tens of thousands of working parents struggling to afford the high cost of child care along with Deborah Lancaster executive director of the Rucker Center for Women and Work she highlights a key issue many families earn too much to qualify for subsidies but not enough to cover the steep prices of care we are a really highcost state and um the pressure of child care costs um creates a whole bunch of um ramifications for families so let's say two parents and one child that's around 53,300 well if those two parents and one child if those two parents make minimum wage right that's now 1549 in New Jersey if they work 40 hours each they're already over that threshold so in terms of income you could make minimum wage and already be out of the qualification for childcare subsidy low Conroy and Lancaster are supporting legislation sponsored by Senator Teresa Ruiz that would change the income eligibility to qualify for subsidies from the current 200% of the federal poverty level to 300% so we understand the whole issue but now it comes down to where where where and how do we support this initiative if in fact we were to do this which will call on the state um to secure over a billion dollars and so we have to be honest right also about those discussions to me I would say let's find it because investment in in our education uh infrastructure investment in our family infrastructure investment in human infrastructure I think will then even though you're securing the money and putting it there you're going to see the results the return on the investment and the savings in other departments williamson warns that if relief doesn't come soon she may no longer be able to offer her services to parents in the coming years for NJ Spotlight News I'm Raven Santana this program is made possible in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting a private corporation funded by the American people [Music]