Senator Tim Kennedy has called for the expansion of Child Care Subsidies in Erie County.

As Governor Andrew Cuomo prepares the 2017 executive budget, Senator Kennedy is asking that $2.5 million be put into expanding the Workforce Development Institute's Child Care Facilitated Enrollment Program. It would increase aid to families with an income up to 275 percent of the federal poverty level, or $60,000 for a family of four.

"Many of these parents are trying to better themselves their education and better their children's future by working these jobs and then they're foreced to leave because they can't afford to do both a career and provide child care for their families. That's inherently wrong and inherently unacceptable," said Kennedy.

The WDI program is available in most counties across Western New York.