New Program Helps Parents With Childcare Costs During Job Search

More help is coming Friday for Oklahoma parents who are looking for a job and trying to pay for childcare at the same time. 

This is an expansion of an existing program. Before, it only benefitted parents who lost their job due to COVID and that was limited to only 60 days. 

Now, parents who lost their job for any reason and are looking to return to work will now be eligible for 3 months of assistance to help pay for childcare while they search for a job. 

Under this new expansion, job seekers with children do not need to meet any income eligibility requirements, they simply need to just apply online. 

"We know that childcare is a very expensive thing for families, but it's also something you need to have if you want to do a job search. So, we hope this is beneficial to families and supports them in difficult times," said Casey White from Oklahoma Human Services. 

This childcare subsidy expansion was made possible by a $50 million block grant through the federal CARES act. 

Oklahoma Human Services says since the initial program started last year, it's been able to help more than 440 Oklahomans pay for childcare. 

For parents who want to apply to the program, visit OKDHIive.org and provide your final paystub.