Houston mother faces eviction while waiting for child care assistance
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A Houston woman struggling to find child care says she has been on the waiting list for Workforce Solutions child care assistance program for three months.
"I don't have anyone to watch my kids," said Jennifer Lopez.
Lopez, who gave birth to her son in early October, says she applied for the Workforce Solution child care program about three weeks later.
"I miss a lot of days of work," Lopez said, as she explained that she's forced to stay home with her 5-month-old son.
Between January of last year through May, Workforce Solutions saw a decline in their waitlist of families requesting child care assistance. The average was around 16,000. Since June, however, that number has continued to climb each month, and now has nearly doubled.
According to Workforce Solutions, there are more than 41,000 children on the waiting list.
"So many people left workforce because of the pandemic and are now re-entering," said Michelle Castrow with Workforce Solutions.
She says the increase has in fact slowed the process.
Castrow says they've hired about 20 additional people to help process applications faster. Lopez is praying for a solution quickly, as she was recently served an eviction notice.
"I'm running out of options," says Lopez.
The family has created a Go Fund Me page for anyone who wishes to help her back on her feet.
