BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Louisiana's state school board has agreed to boost day care assistance to low-income families.
A plan that won support Wednesday from the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education increases subsidies available to parents, using $10 million in available federal funding.
When the program was overseen by Gov. Bobby Jindal's administration, payments were cut. Superintendent of Education John White, whose department took over management in July, said the number of children served has dropped from 40,000 to 15,000.
The program is designed to help poor parents afford day care so they can work or go to school.
The maximum annual subsidy per child will grow from $1,700 to $4,000. Co-pays for the poorest parents will disappear. Families will remain eligible for a full year even if work or school status changes.