I’m going to say yes.
In the long run, I think it’s money well spent and cuts out a middle person.
**For example, many low income single mothers get state aid child care expenses. That seems silly to me. It doesn’t make sense to pay a crummy wage to a daycare so the mother can make an equally crummy wage. Neither make enough to get on a better financial footing. **
It makes more sense to me to offer a “professional mother” type aid directly to the mother so she can care for her own child. The mother will end up better financially (no work expenses out of the home, like business clothes extra gas ect…) and most of the time will take better care of the child.
I see this as the same thing. WIC doesn’t give much, but it gives help in the basics for those early years.
The medicaid I would be okay with if they felt it best, but I would urge caution before giving up insurance.** Some states have a great medicaid program, but others (like mine) are really bad. It’s very hard to get a doctor and medications, so many kids end up in ER because they couldn’t get treated sooner.**
My own dh and I have considered opting out of his company’s insurance plan for me and the kids (but not him) because it is REALLY expensive (nearly 1/3 of each paycheck!). We wonder if the huge amount of money on premuims could be better used for other family needs and a better future, but fear of not getting adaquate care if we should need it has kept us from doing so. Health must be a first priority.
**Also, another word of caution - Once you apply for these things, it can take over your life and really prevent you from doing better. For example, you get on medicaid and the benefits equal roughly $300 a month covered medications. Later, your dh gets a $200 a month raise. The raise was enough to disqualify the family, but not enough to cover the medical needs. The family may have to decide to turn down the raise to keep their medications. **
The “system” can be a very vicious and frustrating cycle. We do qualify for these programs, but have not taken anything more than WIC for the above reasons. And even when we had WIC, it was only because our 3rd baby had severe eating problems needing special formula we couldn’t afford. WIC gave enough formula vouchers to cover about 2 weeks of the formula for every month - which saved us nearly $125 during that 2 week period! What a God send that was!
Mom being home with baby is very important, and baby will repay (in future taxes) way more than what little they receive from these programs. In fact, such programs should be expanded so more Moms can afford to stay home. It could be an ‘official’ way to acknowledge the value of full time motherhood.