The state will delay, by one month, a change in the child care subsidy scale to give providers and families time to work out solutions and apply for federal grants.

The department has created a new 10-part scale that pays varying amounts to needy families or their providers for child care so that the parents can afford to go to work.

The state will help child care providers apply for assistance from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act or the Salvation Army.

The one-month delay will help families make the transition from the three-level subsidy system to the 10-level system, said Christina Cox, president of KCAA Preschools of Hawai'i and liaison for the Childcare Business Coalition, which represents 44 licensed preschools.

"This will give them more time to adjust to the subsidy changes so they don't have to quit their jobs to care for their children," Cox said.

The state Department of Human Services says it would run out of money for the subsidies at the end of January under the current subsidy levels of 100 percent, 90 percent or 80 percent. Implementing the new subsidy scale would make the money last through June, when the fiscal year ends.

"The actions we are taking will enable parents to continue their employment or education and keep keiki in their current child care settings at least through June," said Lillian Koller, state Department of Human Services director. "These measures will also help child care providers maintain their enrollment."

State Sen. Suzanne Chun Oakland, D-13th (Kalihi, Nu'uanu), chairwoman of the Senate Human Services and Public Housing committee, said she worries about licensed child care providers who may see their enrollments plunge because working parents cannot afford child care without the larger subsidies.

"I'm trying to give them (the state department) the benefit of the doubt that it has done the analysis right," Chun Oakland said. "I still feel a little bit uneasy without seeing the numbers."

The state helps nearly 7,800 families with child care subsidies for children from birth to age 13. Subsidies can be as high as $1,395 a month and are available to families for licensed, center-based infant/toddler care. More than half the families, however, use relatives for child care.[0x1d]