LAKE COUNTY - Low income parents who need to continue working in spite of the rise of e-learning amid the coronavirus pandemic, may now have assistance to help pay for out-of-school child care.
Lake area United Way last week approved $578,000 in funding to assist working parents who will rely on e-learning, out-of-school care and child care this fall. To qualify, parents must be employed, reside in Lake County, and meet income guidelines.
Lisa Daugherty, president and CEO of Lake Area United Way, says the organization's goal is to help enable parents to be able to work if their children's school closes and to help keep kids safe and keep them learning.
"We transitioned our work over the course of the last few years to focus on a population that we call ALICE, it stands for asset limited income constrained employeed, and when we went out and we talked to ALICE families; they are in important jobs to our economy, but they don't necessarily earn enough money to sustain a family and afford basic necessities, so when we talked to those families, there were a few different challenges that they faced, but where we decided to focus was on helping families access quality child care and better paying jobs," Daugherty says.
Crossroads YMCA is developing YMCA Out of School Learning programs in Griffith and Hobart and the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Northwest Indiana is currently registering for its "In Club Virtual Learning" for the school year fall programming in each of their clubs.
Lake Area United Way fee assistance applies to Lake County residents only.
