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Stories

As a single mother and a social worker, I am still within 200% of the poverty limit. Unfortunately, my gross monthly income has always been just enough to exclude me from receiving food stamps and subsidized child care. Effective 8/1/11, the income limit is being raised and I will finally be...Read more
Shannon
I want to share a quick story. I started my federal career in November of 2005 as a federal contractor with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. I had 2 little ones when I started working and during my time working at CDC I conceived another child and had a son. My cost for childcare for...Read more
LaShea
My husband and I are college professors. I think that places us solidly in the "middle class." However, even though we live in a fairly low rent apartment, have only one car and are both fully employed, we can't actually find child care we can afford. Every month we barely balance our checkbook and...Read more
Shanna, Rhode Island
Having no paid maternity leave from my waitressing job threw my husband and I into financial chaos. It was so stressful - on top of having a newborn, not even knowing how we were going to make what little savings we had last, having to stress about buying diapers and basic survival items. We had...Read more
Melissa
I am a single mother of young children and I am in law school with a degree from UW. But three years ago, a single set back destabilized my entire family. A single, and rare, support payment from the father of my children temporarily put me over the income limit for my childcare subsidy. Overnight...Read more
Angelica, Seattle, WA
I was lucky enough to be able to stay home for the first year of my daughter's life, but as her first birthday approached I knew it was financially time to get started again. The daycares in my area were all acceptable, but most were warehouse type "kindercare" places. I wanted a more personal and...Read more
Michelle
in 2008 i was fired from nordstrom along with at least 6 other employees...i spent all of 2009 appealing my case to get my unemployment benifits, working small jobs that i found, taking my son to long beach community college preschool and taking care of my husband on disability... i started...Read more
Anonymous
When my first child was about to enter preschool, we did not know what to do. We could not afford a private preschool but we also did not qualify for Head Start. We found out about a public preschool (Heritage Child Development Center) that sounded great so we called them up. They had a number of...Read more
Lisa
Affordable part-time childcare/preschool through our local Park and Recreation Department is making it possible for me to help run our family business. I would be out of the workforce entirely, and our business would be suffering, were it not for this great community resource. There are very few...Read more
Anonymous
Had to quit my job because I could not afford or find good daycare, also was denied unemployment. Employer ( before I had to quit) reduce me to parttime and did not allow me to go back to the nightshift.Read more
Daniela

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