FISHER — For the first time in her 20 years of taking care of children, home day care provider Mary Blythe recently has had to consider turning away some families who receive state child care subsidies.

Delays in when she receives child care payments from the state have caused a financial hardship for her business and her family.

"When we get paid late, we pay our mortgage late. When we pay our mortgage late, it goes to our credit report," said Blythe, who runs a day care and preschool program out of her Fisher home.

With her husband laid off from his job, Blythe's child care business has become the sole source of income for the couple in the last year. She's 46; he's 51. Lately they've had to tap into her husband's retirement account to make the mortgage payment.

Among the many agencies and businesses awaiting payments or reimbursements from the state are day care providers, including institutionally run centers as well as many sole proprietors who operate day cares out of their homes, like Mary Blythe. For many of these small businesses, a payment received a few days or two weeks later than expected can wreak havoc on their personal and professional finances.

For years, the Illinois Child Care Assistance Program has provided low-income families with access to child care. Parents must apply for the child care subsidy and they have to be working or going to school to receive it, said Brenda Eastham, director of operations at the Child Care Resource Service at the University of Illinois. The amount of the subsidy varies based on the family's size, income and other guidelines. Parents also have to make a co-payment directly to their providers. That amount also varies.

The Child Care Resource Service processes the applications and payment forms, but all the money is handled by the state.

After the child care providers provide a month of service, they file a claim with the state. Payments used to arrive in the provider's accounts within a couple weeks, now it's deposited closer to a month later, according to Eastham.

"This year ... things have been slightly delayed, not over a month, but closer to it," Eastham said.

"The state is expecting that throughout this fiscal year they will be having delays," she said.

Jefferyann Jones of Urbana takes care of eight children ranging in age from 9 months to 7 years old. All but one receive the subsidy.

When the payments arrive late, she pays her bills late and accrues late fees.

"I have an assistant I have to pay, and that can't be late. It's not fair," she said.

Eastham said she has been hearing about some providers who no longer want to deal with the subsidy and can no longer take families who qualify for the subsidy.

"Some providers also are struggling families," Eastham said.

The program did take a cut this fiscal year. In previous years, family applicants could receive the subsidy if they were at 200 percent of the poverty level. Now it's 175 percent above poverty level, according to Eastham. A family of four at 175 percent of poverty level has an annual income of $39,113.

Of the nine families in Blythe's care, eight of them are subsidized by the state.

"I've been doing child care for 20 years and the state has never been as bad as it's been now," she said about the payment delays.

On Sept. 16, over 20,000 payments were approved for payment, which helped the state catch up, according to Eastham.

However, the Child Care Resource Service and many providers are bracing for more delays to crop up throughout this fiscal year.

"They're going to force providers out of business," Blythe said.