PROVIDENCE – The economic crisis that the nation is experiencing is eliminating jobs and putting more financial stress on working people.
That also includes families who consider themselves middle class.
One area in which families are taking an additional financial hit is child care. With Rhode Island Department of Human Service cuts and less options for this important service, one program that is becoming more popular is the Cabrini Fund, conducted by the Office of Community Services and Catholic Charities.
Named for St. Frances Xavier Cabrini and established in 2006, the fund provides scholarships to low and modest income families to help pay part of the cost up to $100 a month for child care. About 200 families receive assistance during a typical year. Applicants must be employed full-time, live in Rhode Island or be registered in a Catholic parish in the state, and have a total family income at or below 75 percent of the Rhode Island median income. According to Kathleen McKeon, supervisor of the Office of Community Services and Catholic Charities, the Cabrini Fund receives $185,000 annually from the Catholic Charity Fund Appeal for scholarships.
The popularity of the program is demonstrated by an increasing waiting list for families seeking child care. There are now about 50 families on the waiting list, according to Richard Zalewski, scholarship fund representative. He said that this is a marked difference from just a year ago when that list was much smaller.
“It is frustrating,” said Zalewski, who blamed the economy and DHS cuts for the increasing number of parents seeking assistance. “From what I understand there aren’t any other programs available in the state.”
The Cabrini Fund enabled Helen Connors of Pawtucket to make a needed career change and afford child care.
Connors and her husband David are parishioners at St. Leo the Great Church and the parents of two young children. She had been working as a letter carrier with the U.S. Postal Service, but found that the stress of the job was affecting her health. She found another job at the Fallon Memorial School in Pawtucket, but was forced to take a pay cut.
Connors had been using the Sonshine Program, which provides after school care, at Woodlawn Catholic Regional School, but had been unaware of the Cabrini Fund.
“The people at the school knew I had gone from one income level to another and mentioned it to me,” said Connors. “And I’m so glad they did. I wouldn’t have had to use it before. It definitely helps us out.”
When Nichole Dayson moved to Providence two years ago, she was determined to provide her son, 9-year-old Demetrius, with a Catholic education. She enrolled him at St. Patrick School in Providence, and then learned about the Cabrini Fund.
“It was an extra bonus,” she said. “That it can provide you with after-school care is really helpful. I work 45 minutes away from Providence, so to have him in a school that utilizes an after school-school program is really nice. Child care isn’t cheap and without the Cabrini Fund I would be in a real bind.”
Zalewski mentioned that the recent economic crisis is affecting additional programs offered by the Office of Community Services and Catholic Charities. He said that the number of people seeking help this past winter through the diocese’s heating assistance program “was off the charts” and affecting everyone.
