A meeting to straighten out what threatens to become a child-care crisis in Chatham County is set for today.

State Sen. Regina Thomas, D-Savannah, organized the meeting in hopes of bringing local child-care providers and state officials closer to a solution to a payment problem that has plagued the system since October.

Child-care providers are complaining they are on the verge of going out of business if they aren't paid promised state funds under the Welfare to Work program.

The state distributes those funds through a company called Maximus, with headquarters in Atlanta. Maximus contracted with the state in October to distribute the funds which pay part of the child care-costs of families in Welfare to Work. Under the contract, the state pays Maximus more than $2.5 million to distribute the funds. Formerly, the money was distributed through county Department of Family and Children Services offices.

Many child-care businesses say they haven't been paid in full since Maximus took over.

The lost payments cost Greenbriar Children's Center's two child-care facilities $12,000 from October to December, said Yvette Johnson-Hagins, executive director at Greenbriar.

"They've not explained to us why they're not making the payments," she said.

Taking part in today's meeting will be child-care providers, state DFCS officials, local elected officials and a Maximus representative.

No one from Maximus returned calls for comment Friday.

The child-care centers are operating, for now, by sending letters to creditors. But many will have to begin laying off staff and possibly shutting down if the payments are not received soon, said Earline Davis, director of Chatham County DFCS.

"Any time you switch to a new service, you expect some bugs," Davis said. "But I believe it's more critical with our child-care providers because they do not work with a large cash reserve."

Savannah Morning News

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