JACKSON, Miss.–Some daycare providers didn’t like and some parents even threw a fit when the Dept. of Human Services announced a finger scanning program that they said would ensure fair payment from DHS to daycares that get money from them for children from low-income families. Now a judge in Hinds County has blocked the program.
The eChildcare system was set to start Oct. 1 and would require parents who get a subsidy for daycare to scan their finger daily while dropping off and picking up their child.
Chancery Judge Denise Owens issued a temporary restraining order because she said DHS’s economic impact statement did not meet state requirements.
When the imminent implementation of the program was announced last month at a press conference at DHS headquarters, people who did not care for the program were there to protest, some claiming it would unfairly take away money needed for properly providing for the children at the daycare centers.
DHS said it would ensure accurate payments to the centers and would not pay when the children did not come.
