Parents Rally for Child-Care Subsidies

Organizers said that because child care is something that affects a broad swath of people, they planned to develop a broad spectrum to chip in.

"It's an important issue that people should be able to get their arms around," said Kerrie Wilson, executive director of Reston Interfaith. "It's an issue that's easy to translate to everyday life. Any working parent can understand the challenge of child care and wanting to go to work and support their family. That's what led us to this effort."

Initial efforts culminated in a statewide rally at the state Capitol in January. And while they acknowledge that the effort was modest, they said that they plan to rally hundreds of low-income parents next year during the legislative session to demand that their interests are included in the state's budget.

But organizers said they still are trying to figure out how to effectively mobilize parents who are working full time -- sometimes with multiple jobs -- who don't have a lot of free time. "We're still learning," Wilson said. "We've got a long way to go."

State officials have said that they are aware of the waiting list and its disproportionate impact on Fairfax County families. But they point out that the county has much more generous eligibility requirements than other places -- which has partly contributed to the increase in the waiting list. In Fairfax, a family of four may make up to 275 percent of the poverty level and still qualify; in other jurisdictions, the cutoff is 185 percent.

State officials also say federal mandates for other social service programs have diverted money that might keep kids off.

Organizers say the average cost of child care in Fairfax ranges from $7,000 to $12,800 a year -- a cost that can eat up 21 to 25 percent of take-home pay for those with modest incomes.

As they talk to local and state officials, the parents try to explain the connection between child care and their ability to work. Research has cited the cost of child care as the main reason low-income families go back on welfare.

"It's become very critical, because we depend on this to work," Cynthia Gunera, 35, a mother of two, said at a public hearing on the county budget hosted by Supervisor Cathy Hudgins (D-Hunter Mill). Gunera's appearance was part of the effort on the local level by the organizers to keep them in mind during budget deliberations. In an interview, she added: "I can't imagine what I'd have to do without it."