LITTLE ROCK—Some Arkansans may be dropped from the child-care assistance rolls this summer because federal funds have been flat over the years while income standards for the program have risen, state officials say.

Arkansas’ voucher program provides child-care assistance for about 13,000 children. But no children from low-income families have been added since September, and the state’s waiting list has grown to nearly 5,000 applicants.

Tonya Russell, director of the state Child Care and Early Childhood Education Division, says state officials are considering not renewing some child-care vouchers in June, the last month of this fiscal year.

Also, Julie Munsell, a spokeswoman for the state Human Services Department, says the agency is considering scaling back income eligibility for the program, putting a limit on how long a family can receive the assistance or limiting the number of children per family in the program.

“We are looking and analyzing everything about what we’ve done historically and what we may need to do in the future to serve families,” Russell said. “Certainly, those families who are in there currently, we are trying to serve as long as we can.”

The Arkansas child-care voucher program is supported by $45 million in federal funds and a $7.4 million state match. Arkansas is required to provide vouchers for some 6,500 children who are in foster care, receive state protective services or whose parents receive welfare or post-welfare benefits.

These children have not been placed on the waiting list. The remaining funds support the other 6,500 children from low-income families.

In 2007, income eligibility was increased from 60 percent of the median state income, or $29,000 for a family of four, to 85 percent of the median state income, or $41,000 for a family of four. Munsell said the state is considering returning to the 60 percent rule.

She also said low-income families could consider other child-care options, such as the federal Head Start preschool program and the Arkansas Better Chance program for 3- and 4-year-olds.

Friday, the U.S. Senate passed a spending plan that proposed a $440 million increase to the Child Care and Development Block Grant, which funds states’ child-care assistance programs. A House budget plan does not include such an increase, says Linda Smith, executive director of the National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies.