Child care beneficiaries fear cancellation of applications

Many foreign parents of U.S. citizen children under the Department of Community and Cultural Affairs’ child care program are worried that their applications may be cancelled as they have yet to meet all program requirements, including the submission of a contract worker’s permit from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Today, March 29, is DCCA’s deadline for all parents to submit their child’s birth certificate, W2 form, check stubs, and CW permit for nonresident workers.

Since Monday, several parents have been appealing to DCCA to extend the deadline.

A single mother of a 1-year-old son, who agreed to speak on condition of anonymity, said yesterday she is losing hope that her son will be accepted to the program because she still lacks a CW permit.

“I am worried because I was informed by a DCCA staffer that incomplete documents will mean cancellation of our application that was already approved. I hope they will consider our situation, that the issuance of the CW permit lies with USCIS and it’s beyond our control. As much as we want to have it now, we have no choice but to wait,” said the Chalan Kanoa mother.

A mother of three from As Lito shares the same worry. Two of her children are already in the program and the pending application is for her youngest child. Despite having her own CW permit, she has to wait for her husband’s CW permit, which is part of the requirements. This week, she was informed that her youngest child’s application for the program may be cancelled if they fail to submit all the requirements.

Another mother in her early 30s from San Jose feels that the situation is unfair because the benefits she is applying for is for her U.S.-born children.

A check with a number of child care centers yesterday showed a shared concern about the situation. “If their applications will be cancelled, this will only mean that many children will be taken to non-certified centers or baby sitters. The important issue here is the safety and welfare of the kids,” said a child care center owner in Chalan Kiya, which has about 50 affected parents on its list.

Upon hearing the concerns of affected parents, DCCA Secretary Melvin Faisao extended yesterday the submission of documents for new applications to May 15. He said the CW permit is a major requirement of the program.

“The department extended the deadline so we can assist those affected parents to complete all the requirements. The documents we asked from them are all major requirements and in consideration of their situation, the department made the decision today,” Faisao told Saipan Tribune yesterday afternoon.

Faisao said that if a large number of parents do not get their CW permit by May 15, the department will ask Gov. Benigno R. Fitial to request USCIS to expedite the processing of affected individuals. “That’s our plan in case they have yet to receive their permits by the time.”

Faisao also said that child care centers will get today their reimbursement checks for January 2012. DCCA released the center’s December checks in late February. Owners of child care centers earlier complained that the lengthy delay in issuing the checks is affecting their operations.

Yesterday, Faisao reiterated that pursuant to policy, DCCA has 19 days to complete the payment review from vendors. After which it will be transmitted to the Department of Finance, Procurement & Supply, down to the Treasury Division for final assessment and check issuance. As far as DCCA is concerned, the agency is complying with its 19-day policy, Faisao said. He cannot, however, speak on behalf of Finance for the next processing steps.

Faisao earlier explained that the delay in the issuance of the last three checks (October, November, December) was due to the 16-hour austerity measures in government—which affected employees of Finance and DCCA, among others. The holiday breaks, he said, also contributed to slowing down the processing of documents.