Alaska takes input on extra child-care help for kids with disabilities

Alaska runs a program, Alaska IN!, that pays additional child-care subsidy on top of regular assistance for families whose children have a diagnosed disability or special need — and the state is taking public comment on how it works Wednesday evening.

The extra help is available to families already in the state's Child Care Assistance Program who use participating providers. In an online session Wednesday from 5 to 7 p.m., the state's Child Care Program Office is inviting providers, families and advocates to weigh in on the program — the application process, who qualifies, and how it accommodates children with a range of needs. (The notice this is drawn from doesn't include a link to join; families can find it through the state's child care program office.)

Separately, the state has proposed widening who can get regular child-care assistance at all. The change would raise the income limit from 85 percent to 105 percent of the state's median income, opening the program to families who earn too much to qualify now. That proposal has its own comment period, with a call-in hearing Aug. 26 and written comments open through mid-September, posted on the state's Online Public Notice System.

Two more input sessions follow on other child-care rules — Sept. 9 on licensed facility requirements, and Sept. 23 on the state's Child Care Grant Program.