Monday, June 29, 2009

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.

Friday, June 26, 2009

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.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

If The Links On This Blog Are Not Working For You......



If the links on this blog are not working for you it simply means that you are not a client and you will have to find the information yourself.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

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


Monday, June 22, 2009

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.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Woman Receives Government Grant Money To Start A Daycare!



One woman decided that she wanted to do something to honor the life of the son she lost a few years ago so she decided to open a daycare, and the state gave her over $50,000 to do it!

In researching programs and other things available for families with a disabled child the woman said she came up empty handed regarding daytime care. "There really wasn't anything here that was going to be beneficial to what my needs would have been," she said. Because of that, she decided to start her own child care center that will cater to children needing respite care but will be open to all children.

With the help of city staff, she applied for and received a grant through one of the government grant programs to renovate a property on a local road. It will eventually become the childcare center. The maximum amount of the grant is $480,000. Monies are distributed according to the cost of renovation or the number of full-time jobs the business will eventually create. For each job created, the grant awards $12,000. Depending on which amount is smaller, 50 percent of renovation costs or the number of jobs created, that is the amount awarded to the grantee.

The daycare plans to create eight full-time jobs once the center is open so that is why she was awarded $12,000 for each position.

"This is going to help our economic development initiative that we would like to have more businesses go in and reuse existing structures so that we can infill that with a viable business,"

"The grants that assist those businesses are designed to create jobs, and if you create jobs that will also help our economy in the local area." Not only will the business create jobs and provide much-needed childcare in the community, but it is hoped that it will also stimulate the economy. "To create those jobs is important to the city. Of course we want to increase the economy and hopefully with these people getting these jobs they'll be able to buy homes, they'll be able to contribute to our tax base - it will be a win-win situation for the people who have the jobs and also to the city." "Also it will be beneficial to have the building used instead of being run down and deteriorating."

The daycare center itself will eventually have space for 10 infants, 12 toddlers, four sick children and a few drop-ins. This will be the only center in the county that provides respite care and care for sick children, which requires a pediatric nurse on staff - thus making it eligible for yet more government grant money!
"It's going to increase the quality of life for many people and benefit families,"....."They need to be able to trust that somebody can take their child and have peace that if something were to arise, their needs would be met."

The renovations planned include updating the garage to become the classroom where sick children will be cared for and adding on a 900-square-foot space that will become the respite care classroom, among other things. The daycare center also hopes to eventually be able to provide respite care on evenings and weekends as well. The goal is to be able to offer this respite care seven days a week as needed. The daycare hopes to start renovations in the next few months and would like to have the center up and running by the first day of school this fall.


Since the first daycare center grant application, the city has a second one going through the consideration process and additional residents have shown interest in applying for the grant.


"Because of this grant, this project is possible," she said. "It just feels right, the space just feels right."




Comments Received




added 8/29/12



"How Do I Start My Own Daycare?"



Well one of the first things that you will have to decide is whether you are going to operate your daycare as a for-profit, a non-profit or a combination of both.


If you look on the side of this blog you will see where I mentioned that a lot of daycares operate on a marginal budget and not a lot of them make a lot of profit. That is where government grants for daycares comes into the picture!


You can start your daycare at first on a small basis. Some states allow this - where you are operating a smaller daycare - and you don't need a daycare license. It's best to check your state guidelines to see what you have to do.



Of course you should have some type of business plan before you open your daycare whether it's going to be a non-profit or not. This business plan will help you see the costs that you will incur when you are running your daycare.



Of course you can start small by operating your daycare at home and as your profits increase you can move to a larger facility.



Of course you should also be aware that it is not just the government that has grant programs! I blog a lot on my Grant Basics 101 Blog about grant programs being offered by groups other than the government. For instance if you want a grant to start your own daycare business then you should be looking for grant programs not just for starting your daycare business - you should be looking for grants to help you start your own business and not just daycare-related grants! For instance I know of one grant program for minorities (including women) who want to start their own business! The total grant award is $25,000 and previous grant recipients included a woman who started her own daycare business with this grant money.



So if you want to start your own daycare business you should do some planning beforehand - which includes deciding how you want to operate your daycare business and having a business plan before you start your own daycare business.



Tuesday, June 9, 2009

State Program To Help Those Who Are Unemployed Who Need Financial Help To Help Pay For Daycare!



Here is another benefit from President Obama's Stimulus Package:

A program has recently been started to provide child care assistance for recently unemployed residents while they search for work, beginning this month. Unfortunately this program will only be available for a limited amount of time!. However over $4 Million Dollars has been set aside for this program!

There are growing numbers of families who need help paying for child care while the parents look for jobs, and this program will be a tremendous help

When a family member loses a job, it creates enormous financial strain. This program will allow those families to breathe easier and focus on finding new employment.

Administered by the Department of Social Services, the program offers eligible residents certificates redeemable for up to two months of free child care. Interested parents can contact local governments offices to verify their eligibility and fill out applications. A list of DOL field offices can be found at this website.

In addition to providing free child care for recently unemployed residents, the Department of Social Services will use the funding to reduce co-payments for families receiving child care assistance through an existing program, to develop grant opportunities for child care providers, and to offer grants for rural school-age programs. Details on those programs will be released as they become available.

For more information about this program, you can contact the Department of Social Services either by their toll free number or by visiting their official website.