Parents protest cutbacks in day care

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - Working parents who say they are caught between a rock and a hard spot protested cutbacks in day care support outside a state office Wednesday morning.

Parents, their kids and day care center owners gathered outside the Albuquerque office of the Children, Youth and Families Department on Pan American Freeway NE. They cut out paper dolls representing 2,000 children they say are on the waiting list for child-care vouchers.

The state, wrestling with a budget shortfall, reduced the income eligibility by half on Jan. 1.

One working mom told KRQE News 13 she has been on a waiting list since February for a day care voucher.

"I'm going to have to move to Texas so my mom can help me with daycare," Tara Lopez said.

News 13 contacted CYFD for a response but has yet to hear back.