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The Child Care Subsidy Waitlist: How to Get Priority and What to Use Meanwhile
A record number of states have frozen or waitlisted child care subsidy assistance. Three groups of children get priority, and a few programs can help while you wait.
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Shared Custody and Food Assistance: Only One Household Can Claim Your Child
Two parents sharing custody can’t both list the same child on a SNAP case in the same month. States decide whose household gets the child, usually based on where the child spends the most time.
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School-Based Medicaid: Your Child’s Therapy Plan Gets Billed at No Cost to You
If your child’s IEP, 504 Plan, or IHP lists a service like speech therapy, the school can bill Medicaid to pay for it, and your family is never charged.
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A New Baby on a Housing Voucher: When One More Bedroom Becomes Official
Keisha’s Housing Choice Voucher covered a one-bedroom apartment for her and her son. When her daughter was born, the math behind her voucher size changed, and a reporting deadline started that same day.
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Heating With Propane or Wood: How a Bulk-Fuel Delivery Benefit Actually Pays
The Delgado family heats with propane, not a metered gas line, so their LIHEAP help doesn’t show up as a bill credit. It shows up as a scheduled delivery, and the timing changes everything.
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Back in School With a Toddler: The 3-Month Floor on Your Child Care Subsidy
Denise enrolled in a 16-week nursing-assistant program while her 3-year-old stayed in subsidized care. A federal rule kept her child care subsidy paying straight through the semester break.
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A Family of Four Can Earn Up to $99,000 and Still Qualify for a Free Food Pantry Box
No ID, no proof of address, and no pay stub: federal rule bars states from requiring any of the three for a free food pantry visit.
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Two Kids Wait for Every One Afterschool Seat: How the Funding Actually Works
The federal government puts $1.329 billion a year into free and low-cost afterschool programs, but two children are waiting for every one who already has a seat.
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Earning $66,900 Still Qualifies a Family of Four for This Tax-Credit Apartment
In Franklin County, Ohio, a family of four earning up to $66,900 a year qualifies for a tax-credit apartment, and the rent stays capped no matter what they earn afterward.
