State expands food and utility aid, child care assistance
Low-income households can take advantage of augmented state programs to help vulnerable residents cover the costs of groceries, utilities, child care and other essentials.
Illinois is releasing $327 million in assistance through the Low-Income Household Energy Assistance Program, and the Community Services Block Grant Program, to assist Illinois’ most vulnerable residents with household expenses.
Also, low-income Illinois parents seeking jobs are now eligible for up to three months of free child care, under an expansion of the state Child Care Assistance Program.
Program eligibility has expanded to parents who are at or below 200% of the poverty level, provided they are unemployed and actively searching for work. Parents who find work, or who enroll in an education program within that three-month period, remain eligible for up to 12 months of assistance.
McHenry County parents who qualify must apply through Community Coordinated Child Care (4-C), which administers the assistance program here in McHenry County. You can
click here for a copy of the application, which is available in English and Spanish, or you can call 815-758-8149, ext. 225, to have one mailed to you. Completed applications can be emailed to
4ccap@four-c.org, delivered by regular mail, or dropped off at 4-C’s office at 667 Ridgeview Drive, in McHenry.
People who don’t live in McHenry County can
click here to learn the child care resource and referral agency through which to apply for the benefit.
