Latest news with #SarahDawson
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Thousands of families could lose childcare, impacting economy, education
DENVER (KDVR) — The Colorado Child Care Assistance Program (CCCAP) in Colorado helps families afford safe, quality childcare. Families below the poverty line can qualify for subsidized childcare provided by the government as long as they're working, trying to find work or furthering their education. Tornado touches down in northern Colorado: 1 report of building damage Federal changes, under the Biden administration, are now shrinking the number of families that can get help. CCCAP is available for low-income families with children from birth to age 13. Families then have continuous eligibility. So, once a family is eligible for CCCAP, they stay eligible as long as their income stays under 85% of the state median income and they're in one of those eligible activities. Previously, 30,000 families were able to use the program. Now, new changes require enrollment-based pay versus attendance-based. Right now, providers are only paid when a child shows up. This means that childcare providers will get paid a higher amount, they say more accurately, covering the cost of care. Family co-payments have been capped out at about 10% of a family's income, and the new federal mandate will require a cap at about 7% of a family's income. It's a cost of $70 million in order for the state to serve the same number of children they were previously serving. A three-to-five-year enrollment freeze is taking effect across the state. Right now, it costs the state on average $6,600 per child per year, that's going up to $18,000. The Colorado Department of Early Childhood said they will have to drop 64% of their kids they serve, and more than 10,000 families will lose their access to these benefits. They state said this change is necessary to absorb those new costs without any additional money coming into the program. Providers believe it will be devastating. 'Serving less children in this program has a huge ripple effect for Colorado. Not only is it affecting our providers and most importantly, our families, but it's affecting our economy as well. If those parents can't go to work or further their education, that is a real drain on our economy and an opportunity lost,' said Sarah Dawson, CCCAP division director of the Colorado Department of Early Childhood. All of these new federal rules will go into effect August 1, 2026. Dawson said a child stays in CCCAP for about three years, so counties have to budget about three years in advance, which is why CCCAP freezes are taking place state-wide right now, even though the increase in cost is not happening until 2026. Families who are currently receiving CCCAP should stay on top of those redetermination deadlines to stay in the program. The cuts are mainly impacting new families that are trying to get access to CCCAP, many of them are getting on a waitlist or don't have access at all. This is impacting new, young parents. These cuts are especially worrisome to Steven Bartholomew, the executive director of New Legacy Charter School. New Legacy provides teen parents with free childcare while the student is getting their high school diploma. 'Your life isn't over': Aurora school helps teen parents graduate 'What I'm concerned about with CCCAP is the fact that we have a generation that will be affected negatively, very similar to the pandemic generation. We see the effects of that,' said Steven Bartholomew, the executive director of New Legacy Charter School. 'The same thing is going to happen with a CCCAP freeze, if young parents can't get their kids to an Early Learning Center, their young parents will suffer because they can't go to they can't go and have a job, and their little ones will suffer also because they're not going to be ready for preschool and kindergarten.' Bartholomew said they will lose about 15% of their early learning center funding because of the CCCAP freeze, and in two years, they are looking at losing about 30%. He said this translates to cutting staff members. '(Cutting staff) means the quality of the education for both the teen parent, in other words, the high school student and also their child, their little one in the Early Learning Center, their education will be affected negatively,' Bartholomew said. The Colorado Teen Parent Collaborative also weighed in: Access to childcare is not a luxury- it's a lifeline. Teen parents and their children cannot afford to wait three to five years. Colorado must act now to prevent long-term harm and support the next generation of parents and learners.' Now many in the early learning space are calling on policymakers to make a change. 'This is our youngest Coloradans' future, so we got to be thinking about any possible thing that we can do. I think first and foremost, these are unfunded federal mandates. So, we do need to keep putting the pressure on at the federal level to get the funding. We need to implement these really positive changes here in Colorado,' said Dawson. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
West Australian
17-05-2025
- General
- West Australian
Saturday Lotto: Two lucky West Aussies win life-changing division one prizes
Saturday's Lotto saw two lucky West Aussies win a life-changing half a million dollars each after they matched the winning numbers in Saturday night's draw. Three players won the division one prize of $1,690,125.75. Two out of three of them are from WA and will walk away with a cool $563,375.25 each. West Aussies were lucky across the board this evening with 12 out of the 42 players pocketing a share of the $14,571 division 2 prize coming from WA. The winning numbers are 31, 40, 44, 37, 9 and 19. The supplementary numbers are 5 and 11. Lotto success in the west comes after Friday's millionaire medley saw one Aussie from elsewhere in the country snagging the entire $1 million prize. As well as leaving you in with a chance of winning, Saturday Lotto ticket sales also contribute to supporting hundred of community organisations across WA. 'Since the start of the year, Saturday Lotto ticket sales have raised more than $38 million for Lotterywest's grants program.' says Lotterywest spokesperson Sarah Dawson.
Perth Now
17-05-2025
- General
- Perth Now
Two lucky West Aussies win life-changing division one prizes
Saturday's Lotto saw two lucky West Aussies win a life-changing half a million dollars each after they matched the winning numbers in Saturday night's draw. Three players won the division one prize of $1,690,125.75. Two out of three of them are from WA and will walk away with a cool $563,375.25 each. West Aussies were lucky across the board this evening with 12 out of the 42 players pocketing a share of the $14,571 division 2 prize coming from WA. The winning numbers are 31, 40, 44, 37, 9 and 19. The supplementary numbers are 5 and 11. Lotto success in the west comes after Friday's millionaire medley saw one Aussie from elsewhere in the country snagging the entire $1 million prize. As well as leaving you in with a chance of winning, Saturday Lotto ticket sales also contribute to supporting hundred of community organisations across WA. 'Since the start of the year, Saturday Lotto ticket sales have raised more than $38 million for Lotterywest's grants program.' says Lotterywest spokesperson Sarah Dawson.
West Australian
10-05-2025
- Business
- West Australian
Lotto: Six ticketholders hit the jackpot with $3.3m wins in Saturday's draw
Six Aussies have become instant millionaires after bagging division one wins in Saturday Lotto's $20 million draw. The fortunate players managed to match the six winning numbers needed to secure the jackpot, earning them a cool $3.3m each. Division two dished out more than $11,000 to 103 players across the nation —including 17 West Aussies. An additional 1,748 Aussies will be celebrating a handy cash boost of $992.20. The winning numbers for draw #4571 are 1, 35, 18, 25, 45 and 38. The supplementary numbers are 4 and 16. Although there were no division one winners from the west, the draw has raised more than $3 million to support the WA community. Lotterywest spokesperson Sarah Dawson said: 'Since the start of the year, Saturday Lotto ticket sales have raised more than $38 million for Lotterywest's grants program. 'If you had a ticket in tonight's draw you are supporting hundreds of community organisations across WA who are doing fantastic things for Western Australians.' Saturday's luck comes after a man from New South Wales was the only player to win the $30 million Powerball jackpot on Thursday. The man from Cessnock bought the golden ticket from Shell Aberdare Newsagency on Aberdare Road, netting him the life-changing prize. An official from The Lott delivered the news shortly after the draw, catching the winner completely off guard. 'Holy sh..t!' he exclaimed, overwhelmed by the moment. 'Bless you, man! Bless you!' he laughed, before erupting into disbelief. 'I just had this ticket on the fridge. I was looking at it this afternoon and thought, 'wouldn't it be lovely to win'. The ticket was there with all the bills. There will be no more worrying about bills now. I don't care if I get a bill now!'
Perth Now
10-05-2025
- Business
- Perth Now
Six players strike gold in Saturday's $20m Lotto draw
Six Aussies have become instant millionaires after bagging division one wins in Saturday Lotto's $20 million draw. The fortunate players managed to match the six winning numbers needed to secure the jackpot, earning them a cool $3.3m each. Division two dished out more than $11,000 to 103 players across the nation —including 17 West Aussies. An additional 1,748 Aussies will be celebrating a handy cash boost of $992.20. The winning numbers for draw #4571 are 1, 35, 18, 25, 45 and 38. The supplementary numbers are 4 and 16. Although there were no division one winners from the west, the draw has raised more than $3 million to support the WA community. Lotterywest spokesperson Sarah Dawson said: 'Since the start of the year, Saturday Lotto ticket sales have raised more than $38 million for Lotterywest's grants program. 'If you had a ticket in tonight's draw you are supporting hundreds of community organisations across WA who are doing fantastic things for Western Australians.' Saturday's luck comes after a man from New South Wales was the only player to win the $30 million Powerball jackpot on Thursday. The man from Cessnock bought the golden ticket from Shell Aberdare Newsagency on Aberdare Road, netting him the life-changing prize. An official from The Lott delivered the news shortly after the draw, catching the winner completely off guard. 'Holy sh..t!' he exclaimed, overwhelmed by the moment. 'Bless you, man! Bless you!' he laughed, before erupting into disbelief. 'I just had this ticket on the fridge. I was looking at it this afternoon and thought, 'wouldn't it be lovely to win'. The ticket was there with all the bills. There will be no more worrying about bills now. I don't care if I get a bill now!'
