Could Your For-Profit Daycare Center Use A Financial Grant?

One state's legislative assembly has provided $500,000 of one-time funding to assist state child care providers with infrastructure and technical assistance/business plans. This funding program has also been authorized to provide financial assistance to childcare providers through loans. If you are interesting in more information about this grant funding program then you are advised to vist their website.

Who Is Eligible To Apply

Eligible organizations include licensed profit, non-profit and public child care facilities. Faith based organizations are eligible but must follow all appropriate federal guidelines if receiving federal subsidies.

Matching Requirements - $3.00 of grant funds will be available per $1.00 of other funds. Match must be cash and can come from other public and private sources or a combination of public and private sources. For example, if the total project cost is $1,000; then the grant program can provide up to $750 after the project is completed.

What can the grant money be used for? - Eligible uses include a maximum of $5,000 for infrastructure (furniture, fixtures, equipment, and egress windows). To receive the $5,000 grant, facilities must provide $1,667 in matching funds from other private/public sources. Non-eligible use of funds will include all other house rehabilitation.

Maximum of $10,000 for technical assistance and/or business plans. To receive this $10,000 grant, facilities must provide $3,334 in matching funds from other private/public sources.

Applicants can access both options to a maximum program amount of $15,000 per biennium. Applications submitted for less than $750 will not be considered at this time.

The Application Process - The financial request must include the Child Care Grant application. The completed copy should be mailed to this address.

Facilities will be required to provide a letter from either a County Child Care Licensor or from the DHS Early Childhood Service Regional Supervisor confirming that the facility does not have a history of violations and/or corrective actions. If a history of violations and or corrective actions exist, facilities will need to provide:

• A three year "Early Childhood Service History" from either a County Child Care Licensor or from the DHS Early Childhood Service Regional Supervisor.
  
  
• An explanation of changes that have been made to correct the violations and a letter from a County Child Care Licensor or from the DHS Early Childhood Service Regional Supervisor confirming that corrective action has taken place.
  
  
• The acceptability of the documentation will be at the sole discretion of Commerce in consultation with County Child Care Licensors or DHS Early Childhood Services Regional Supervisor for that county.

Funding decisions will be based on the following criteria:

• Current license
  
  
• Facility history
  
  
• Equitable distribution between for profit, non-profit and public child care facilities
  
  
• Importance to the community
  
  
• Safety equipment

Funding will be provided on a reimbursement basis after the project is complete. Funding requests must include supporting documentation such as invoices and receipts. All reimbursement requests must be submitted by

June 15th, 2011.

The enabling legislation that provided the funds for this program required an equitable distribution of funds to the three eligible organizations: for-profit, non-profit and public child care facilities. Therefore, Commerce will allocate dollars to the three program areas to ensure that the funds are being distributed equitably.

This is a one-time grant and the state will not be responsible for any on-going costs associated with the recipient's project.

Questions regarding this child care grant program should be addressed to the program manager who can be contacted by phone.

The application for this child care grant program can be downloaded by clicking here. The application form is in .pdf format and is just under 230 kb in size.

Another Grant Program For Daycares!

Currently applications for proposals from childcare agencies with facility needs are being accepted. This grant program seeks to assist agencies with a wide range of projects such as creating a new center, expansions, facility preservation or quality improvements. According to one of the spokespeople for this grant program, "This effort is part of a commitment to improve access to quality childcare throughout our local area. Even the smallest grants can make a difference when it comes to helping children succeed early in life and beyond."

Grants are available for $20,000 for childcare centers and $10,000 for family childcare homes.

Further details on this grant opportunity and necessary documents are available at their website.

Deadline for applications is no later than 5 p.m. Nov. 6, 2009!

New Grant Program Announced For Daycare Providers!

Another state has announced plans for 2 new funding programs for daycare providers! They are intended to help childcare providers address capital needs and business planning to help daycares avoid common business pitfalls and improve the odds of long-term success.

These 2 new funding programs will provide grants and low-interest loans for the state's daycare providers. According to a spokesperson, "We know there is demand for quality, reliable childcare providers in our state to support our young working families with children. We believe these two programs provide funding to help stimulate the creation of more childcare options for them.”

The first program provides matching grants of up to $5,000 that can be used for infrastructure (furniture, fixtures, and equipment), and $10,000 for technical assistance or business planning. Both grants require providers to provide $1 in matching funds for every $3 in grant funds.

A total of $500,000 is available for the grants through the next year. The money will be distributed in two grant rounds. The deadline for applying for the first round is Oct. 31, 2009. Funding will be equally distributed between licensed profit, non-profit and public childcare facilities. Other criteria include facility history, the importance of the facility to the community and grants to support purchasing safety equipment.

Additional information for the grant program can be found by visiting the website.

The 2nd program provides up to $100,000 in low-interest loans from the state's development fund to acquire, lease, or remodel real estate, to purchase equipment or for working capital! The loan program has $1.25 million and applications are available at their website. Both programs will be available well into 2010 and are available to all licensed profit, nonprofit and public child care facilities.

For further information, please visit the website.

Grant Money Available For Single Mothers Who Want To Continue Their Education!

There is a non-profit organization that gives child-care scholarships to low-income single mothers who want to continue with their education.

Founded by a woman whose single mom never got a chance to go to college, she asks her potential scholarship winners "How are you going to support yourself and your child now that the baby's here?"

Although she discovered plenty of programs to help pay for classes she didn't find many that help fund child care for the single mother. "It's a major expense. A family with an infant in a child-care center typically is expected to pay $4,500 to $14,600 a year. For young mothers, many of whom are already dealing with a pile of guilt and shame to go with financial debt, getting help with child care may be just the thing they need to get them over the hump."

Through grants and fund-raising, her organization has supported about 500 single parents -- moms along with a few dads -- in 11 years. According to one recipient who gave birth to her daughter when she was only 14, "Before I got the scholarship, I wasn't even sure if I could go to college, because I couldn't live at home." Now after graduating from college the foundation has extended her scholarship through law school. Today she works as a lawyer who specializes in child-care law and other issues affecting low-income women.

More Stimulus Money For Daycare!

Another state has received additional funding - over $5 Million Dollars - to help low-income people help pay for child care! Those who are low-income may qualify for financial assistance from the state Department of Social Services to help pay for child care. Thousands of low-income parents in the state saw there child and daycare bills go down thanks to funding from the federal stimulus package.

For example one single mother's monthly child care bill decreased by $110! She will use that extra money to help pay other bills and to also help stimulate the economy by spending some of it in the local markets.

To qualify:

• a family of two must have a monthly household income of $2,429 or less
  
  
• a family of four, $3,675 or less

The funding is paid directly to the provider, and parents are responsible for a sliding co-payment, based on their income, which must be met before the subsidy is paid. In addition the funding will also provide two months of free day care for any qualified unemployed or dislocated workers in the state while they search for work!

According to one spokesperson, "There are growing numbers of families in this state who need help paying for child care while the parents look for jobs, and this program will be a tremendous help. This program will allow those families to breathe easier and focus on finding new employment."

These funding benefits are expected to last through September 2010.

Interested parents can contact any of the program's offices to verify eligibility and fill out applications. In one city, you can contact them by phone although the phone number is not a toll-free call.

This funding program also benefits the child care businesses themselves because it is they that receive the money! Says one daycare provider that provides 24-hour day care, "It means I can stay in business." Because of providing such a service the daycare provides has numerous clients with low-paying, shift-work jobs. Of the 24 children enrolled in her day care, 16 of them receive the subsidy, but she estimates 80 percent of her full-time clients are subsidized by the state.

Another part of this funding program will pay for one-time provider grants for equipment purchases and for training opportunities. The equipment grants range from $500 for registered day care homes to $4,000 for licensed day care centers. For example one daycare facility will apply for one of the $4,000 grants. Some of the things on their list are a train table and a double-sided art center. And as an added benefit, the grant money received will be spent locally to help stimulate the economy.

Between 30% and 40% of children at the daycare center receive child care assistance and many of the families have a co-payment of zero!

FREE Daycare Being Provided For Single Mothers!

Since 1993 this organization has been giving babies, toddlers, and pre-schoolers a stable start in life while helping their young mothers to start over. Says one single mother who is now engaged to be married, "....played a role in my life that no other entity could. It nurtures you. It makes sure you can stay on track to become an asset to the community." She is one of the success stories of this organization that has one of seven programs in four states that provide free child care so that low-income, single mothers can finish school. Typically, about half of them are in high school — girls as young as 13 or 14!

According to a spokesperson, "This program isn’t a handout; the free child care comes with strings. Moms have to make a commitment to attend school full time, earn passing grades, volunteer two hours a week at the organization, attend and participate in weekly parent meetings, and observe various house rules."

If the participant doesn’t hold up her end of the bargain, she’ll be asked to leave the program — making room for someone else who is in desperate need of a hand. There are many more single mothers waiting to get into our program right now.

"We try to offer stability and build responsibility. They have to learn to be a woman of their word, to be responsible, to give back. We help them become whole as a young woman and a better parent. They leave as adults. They’re beautiful inside and out."

Says one graduate of the program, while others judged her for becoming pregnant at an early age, the organization "embraced who I was and who my son was...They made me feel like a real person, not just someone they were putting through a system. It was a place to turn for help with anything." With the organization providing free child care for her, the woman graduated and went on to college on a full scholarship, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in education.

Says another, "I can tell you that without I probably wouldn’t be graduating with a master’s degree this year," she said, pointing to the difficulty of dealing alone with the twin stresses of motherhood and school. "It’s helpful to get through those hard times when there are other people around you in the same situation, and there are people telling you, ‘You can do this,’ when you feel as though you can’t."

Meanwhile, their kids are developing in a child-care program that’s earned a top, three-star rating. The ratings program grades child-care agencies on such factors as staff-to-child ratios, and staff education and familiarity with early learning standards.

Another mother who participated in the program says, "Anything that I need they have for me including diapers, clothing, and food, getting help with her homework, doing her laundry when her washer and dryer were broken, and finding comfort in discussions with the other moms. You think you’re the only one in a certain situation, but you’re not. Everybody is going through the same situation."

The program strives to create scholarship programs, counseling, and referrals to community agencies for problems the staff isn’t able to address. Among the payoffs: fewer unwanted pregnancies.

The organization operates on a budget of $460,000, money that comes from grants, contributions, fund-raisers, and the United Way. It receives no government funding, and stretches its dollars with the help of donations of food, diapers, cleaning supplies, and other items from the community.

Child Care Assistance Grants!

One state announces new child care assistance grants!

This new grant program has been brought to the state courtesy of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. This increased federal funding will assist low-income families with child care and improve the quality of care and delivery of services.

According to a spokesperson, "These funds offer critical assistance to hardworking families with children, and contribute broadly to the Commonwealth. When parents can work and still send their children to a safe and enriching environment, and when child care programs have the opportunity to enhance their skills and services, our families, communities and economy are all made stronger.”

Approximately $18 million in funding will be used over the next two years to enhance and expand assistance to income-eligible families through the state’s child care subsidy program, which provides services for the children of working parents and parents currently receiving job training. The increased financial support from the funding will raise infant reimbursement rates to child care providers while expanding child care services for families in the child care subsidy and other related programs. Nearly 55,000 children are already benefiting from the subsidy program this year. This funding will also help reduce the match payment required of local departments of social services to assist with the delivery of child care subsidy services for needy families. Communities that have struggled in the past to make the matching contribution will be better able to meet the needs of families already in the subsidy program and can apply any savings to address the needs of families currently on waiting lists for services.

In addition, approximately $14 million of the grant will be used to create an automated system for administering and tracking payments to child care providers. When fully implemented, the automated system is projected to provide the area significant annual savings through improved efficiency and accuracy.

Childcare Facilities Get Grants For Shading Their Playgrounds!

Eight state school districts are getting grants to build sun shade structures to shield students from the midday rays. The grants came from the state where a spokeswoman says kids need to learn early about the potential hazards of too much sunshine.

"A lot of the school grounds have taken shade off of the playgrounds and then they put the kids out to play for recess over the noon hour, which is not the best time of day to be out. We've put money out available, it's federal and state funds that are helping do this."

Each school district got $4,000, for a total of $32,000 being spent on the structures statewide. Each school is choosing the type of shade-provider that'll work best during recess or other outdoor activities.

Some are putting hard structures in place, like gazebos. There are also picnic shelter-type structures that are open with just columns and a roof. Other schools are planning to use more temporary structures that are basically canvas awnings supported by metal poles. They can be taken down during stormy and winter weather.

Since skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the state and in the United States, these structures will offer kids protection from the sun. "We need to protect our skin, no matter what age," says one spokesperson. "Our children need to be taught how to take care of their skin for their lifetimes to reduce their risk of developing skin cancer."

Eight the state's school districts applied for the funds and all eight got the money. The program will likely be offered again next year. Among the facilities that got the grants:

• Elementary School
  
  
• a county child care facility
  
  
• a religious school

Grants Available in Alberta, Canada

An organization has been started to help provide more childcare facilities in the region. So far there are only 2 licensed daycares in the area. The group began to work on the project because families had been approaching them saying there was not enough child care programs in the area after various daycare facilities closed. The group was formed at a meeting to look into the various opportunities there are within the region for alternative childcare. This group will also be questioning local schools and businesses to see if there is room to be rented for a daycare facility.

According to the group's spokesperson, “Our first step was to do the survey and hold a public meeting. Now that we know there are enough children to warrant daycare services and we have a group of people interested in moving forward, we will start the next step of finding space.”

The group worked together to draft a letter that will be sent to schools, municipalities, churches, community organizations, and the hospital to see if there is any available space in their buildings. There are grants available from the government to prepare or renovate existing space to use as a daycare.

One recommendation of the ministry is to collaborate with Public and Catholic School Districts to establish child care programs in or adjacent to schools. This will allow the schools and childcare facility to work closely to provide optimal service to parents.

Another meeting for childcare feasibility will be set sometime this month to follow up on the response received from letters sent to local businesses.

The group is looking for other people to be on the board. If you are interested please contact the director Penny Fox by phone.