SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon announced Wednesday that the New York State Department of Children & Family Services has granted its waiver request for the Onondaga County Department of Social Services, referring to it as “economic security.”
The waiver comes just days after the county put a temporary pause on applications for the childcare assistance programs, which allows families to make use of state dollars managed by local counties to cover most of if not the entire cost of daycare. McMahon said the number of applicants enrolled in the program was making the county run on a deficit.
The county was then forced to put applicants on a waitlist. County officials said it was the first time in its history that it needed to implement such a service. McMahon said the problem was unexpected and began when the state capped its spending in February…