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September Update: State-by-State Use of CARES Act Funds to Support Child Care Through the Fall

The Brief

The CARES Act provided states with supplemental child care funding to help address the needs of working families and providers through COVID-19, and to support child care access for essential workers. States were given broad flexibility for how to use this funding, and therefore took a variety of approaches in spending the funds. However, by September, many have run out and are pulling from other sources to support this vital industry. Our 50-state map and accompanying analysis identify how each state is supporting child care providers and working parents during the ongoing crisis.

This map was last updated on September 24

View our updated 2020 state map

Over five months have passed since the CARES Act was signed into law on March 27, 2020. To provide economic support for the child care system, the $2 trillion relief package included $3.5 billion in supplemental appropriations for the Child Care and Development Block Grant.

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WA OR CA ID NV WY WV WI VT VA UT TX TN SD SC RI PA OK OH NM NY NJ NH NE ND NC MT MS MO MN MI ME MD MA LA KY KS IN IL IA HI GA FL DE CT CO AZ AR AL AK DC
Alabama

In March, Alabama received $65 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state used $39.3 million of these funds to offer its “Sustainability Payment” program to help child care providers remain open and make up for lost income due to lower capacity levels throughout the summer.

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Alaska

Alaska fully distributed the $6.4 million in supplemental CCDBG funds it received through the CARES Act by the end of April.

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Arizona

Arizona received $88 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act.

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Arkansas

Arkansas received $41 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state obligated these funds in the spring to support essential workers and child care providers.

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California

California received $350 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. It encouraged all programs that could safely remain open to do so to serve the children of essential workers over the summer, but the state did not deem child care to be an essential service.

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Colorado

Colorado received $42.5 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. With these funds, Colorado established an Emergency Child Care Collaborative to ensure that essential workers had access to child care.

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Connecticut

Connecticut received $23.5 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. In April, Connecticut used $5.8 million of these funds to provide additional resources to licensed child care providers that stayed open to serve children of essential workers through two programs that were discontinued in June and July.

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Delaware

Delaware received $9.7 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act.

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Florida

Florida received $223.6 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. Early in the pandemic, the state budgeted $41 million of these funds to support child care providers who remained open and cared for the children of first responders and health care personnel by offering an additional reimbursement of $500 per child.

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Georgia

Georgia received $144.5 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. This money was primarily used to offer emergency child care scholarships for the children of essential workers.

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Hawaii

Hawaii received $12 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. In response to the pandemic, families of essential workers qualified for child care subsidies regardless of their income.

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Idaho

Idaho received $20 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. In May, Idaho began to offer one-time, noncompetitive Child Care Emergency Grants to help providers that remained open cover operating costs such as rent, staff salaries, and cleaning supplies through the summer.

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Illinois

Illinois received $118.4 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act.

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Indiana

In March, Indiana received $78.8 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state used these funds to provide Temporary Assistance Grants to Retain Child Care that helped providers replace the revenue they did not receive from private-pay children during summer.

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Iowa

In March, Iowa received $32 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state used these funds to provide monthly stipends of $2,000 in May, June, and July to all licensed centers that remained open, and $500 to all registered homes that remained open.

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Kansas

In March, Kansas received $30.7 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state used these funds to create the Hero Relief Program, which offered child care subsidies for essential workers and provided financial support directly to child care providers.

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Kentucky

In March, the state received $67.7 million in supplemental funds through the CARES Act. The state used these funds to offer subsidy payments to providers based on enrollment, rather than attendance regardless of whether the program was open or temporarily closed.

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Louisiana

In March, Louisiana received $67.6 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. Louisiana distributed these funds via two separate programs designed to support families and providers.

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Maine

Maine received $11 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state used its CARES funds to provide child care subsidies for essential employees who exceeded the income-eligibility threshold, available through June 30.

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Maryland

Maryland received $45 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state used these funds to cover child care costs for essential workers through July 24, when the funding was no longer available.

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Massachusetts

Massachusetts received $45.7 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state temporarily closed all nonemergency child care programs through June 29 except those providing care for vulnerable children and the children of essential workers.

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Michigan

Michigan received $100 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act and added $30 million of existing CCDBG funds at the end of April to create a Child Care Relief Fund.

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Minnesota

Minnesota received $48.1 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state used $30 million of these funds to support a Peacetime Emergency Childcare Grant program for licensed providers who offered child care to the children of emergency responders.

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Mississippi

Mississippi received $47 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state used these funds to cover child care costs for essential workers and to pay subsidies and copayments providers based on enrollment, rather than attendance, regardless of operating status, through July.

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Missouri

In March, Missouri received $66.5 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act.

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Montana

In March, Montana received $10.1 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state primarily used these funds to offer Emergency Grants for child care programs that were open or planned to reopen, and to offer Temporary Emergency Child Care Support grants to non-licensed providers caring for the children of essential workers.

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Nebraska

In March, Nebraska received $20 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state primarily distributed these funds in June through one-time Child Care Stabilization Grants to help providers cover the cost of reduced attendance, and one-time Incentive to Reopen grants to help providers cover the costs of reopening.

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Nevada

In March, Nevada received $32.9 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act.

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New Hampshire

In March, New Hampshire received $7 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state primarily used these funds to establish its Emergency Child Care Program (ECCP) that provided child care for essential workers and to cover parent copayments and subsidies, regardless of a program’s operating status.

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New Jersey

In March, New Jersey received $63 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state primarily used these funds to cover child care costs for essential workers throughout the summer, provide enhanced subsidies, and offer grants to help providers cover health and safety costs as they reopened in June.

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New Mexico

In March, New Mexico received $29.4 million in CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state primarily used these funds to offer Recovery and Stabilization grants to providers through May and to offer incentive pay payments to child care workers through June.

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New York

In March, New York received $163 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act.

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North Carolina

In March, North Carolina received $118 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state primarily used these funds to provide operational grants to providers through June, pay enhanced subsidy rates and cover copays, and issue bonuses to child care employees during the summer.

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North Dakota

In March, North Dakota received $6 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state used these funds to offer Child Care Emergency Operating Grants to licensed providers who remained open or had to close due to health concerns.

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Ohio

In March, Ohio received $117 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state primarily used the funds to pay emergency child care providers who stayed open for frontline workers, and to offer monthly grants through August that helped providers cover increased health and safety expenses and payroll costs during periods of low attendance.

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Oklahoma

In March, Oklahoma received $50 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state primarily used these funds to provide up to 60 days of child care for families with parents seeking employment—eligibility requirements waived—and to deploy the Kith.care program which paid family members $25 per day, per child if they cared for the children of frontline workers.

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Oregon

In March, Oregon received $38.6 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. In order to help defray the costs of providing emergency child care, the state used $8 million of these funds to offer providers an initial round of Emergency Child Care grants in May.

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Pennsylvania

In March, Pennsylvania received $106 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state used $51 million of these funds to offer grants to its nearly 7,000 home-based and center-based providers through June.

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Rhode Island

In March, Rhode Island received $8 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state required all child care providers to remain closed through June 1.

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South Carolina

In March, South Carolina received $63.7 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state primarily used these funds to offer child care assistance for families of essential workers, to offer child care sanitation grants, and to pay subsidies to providers based on enrollment through August.

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South Dakota

In March, South Dakota received $9 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state primarily used these funds to offer a one-time grant to licensed providers through June.

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Tennessee

In March, Tennessee received $82.4 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state used these funds to fully cover child care costs for essential workers, pay subsidies based on enrollment, and offer Disaster/Emergency Response and Recovery Operations Cost Grants that help defray differences between provider rates and subsidy payments.

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Texas

In March, Texas received $371.6 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state authorized $100 million of these funds to cover three months of child care costs for essential workers during the summer. Another $100 million was authorized to pay subsidies to providers at a 25% enhanced rate.

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Utah

In March, Utah received $40.4 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. In order to support providers through closures and variable attendance levels from March through September, the state used these funds to pay subsidies to both open and closed providers based on enrollment, rather than attendance.

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Vermont

In March, Vermont received $4.4 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state used these funds to support providers that cared for the children of essential workers and to offer financial support for closed programs.

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Virginia

In March, Virginia received $70.8 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. To support child care programs through periods of low attendance throughout the summer, the state used these funds to offer Incentive Grants through June.

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Washington

In March, Washington received $58.6 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. To support providers through periods of low attendance, the state used $29 million of these funds to offer one-time grants ranging from $6,500 to $14,000 to open providers in May.

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West Virginia

In March, West Virginia received $23 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state used these funds to cover child care costs for essential workers.

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Wisconsin

In March, Wisconsin received $51.6 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. Between May 18 through July 10, the state fully distributed these funds through Incentive Pay grants that helped providers continue to pay staff, and Support for Temporarily Closed Child Care Programs grants that helped providers cover the added costs of reopening.

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Wyoming

In March, Wyoming received $4.1 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state has fully obligated these funds.

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Alabama

In March, Alabama received $65 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state used $39.3 million of these funds to offer its “Sustainability Payment” program to help child care providers remain open and make up for lost income due to lower capacity levels throughout the summer. This program ended on August 1 and the last “sustainability payment” was issued on August 24.

To further support providers through the end of the summer, on July 10, the Alabama Department of Human Resources (DHR) announced that applications were open for a new grant program to support child care providers who remained open and incentivize more providers to reopen. Grant amounts were based on each provider’s daytime licensed capacity with a base rate of $300 per child. To be eligible for a grant, licensed providers had to be open or plan to reopen no later than August 17 and continue to remain open for a period of one year from the date of receiving the grant award. Funding is intended to help child care providers pay employees, purchase classroom materials and cleaning supplies, and provide meals and tuition relief for families. As of early August, the grant program provided financial assistance to 501 child care providers, totaling $7,016,700.

Alabama continues to provide child care financial assistance for health care providers with children under the age of 13. This assistance is not based on income and is funded through supplemental CCDBG funds. The state’s absentee policy, where providers received payment for children who had been absent for more than five days, was reinstated on August 10. However, on August 1, the state reverted to its normal “closure day” policy where providers only receive payment for five days of closure during an emergency.

Alabama has not yet announced plans to provide additional support through the fall to meet demand for school-age child care.

More information here

Alaska

Alaska fully distributed the $6.4 million in supplemental CCDBG funds it received through the CARES Act by the end of April. These funds were disbursed to child care providers to cover their March 2020 expenses. As a result, on June 18, the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services Child Care Program Office (CCPO) received an additional $10.5 million of the state’s Coronavirus Relief Fund federal dollars to backpay Alaska’s child care providers for revenue lost from declining attendance during April and May for the care of children who were not eligible for child care assistance. Though half of the State’s licensed child care facilities closed temporarily due to the pandemic and anticipated needing additional funding to reopen during later summer months, further funding has yet to be approved.

Reimbursements from CCPO for April and May were calculated according to the age of each child in care during that month. For example, for April, providers received $100 for each infant in care, $75 for each toddler in care, $50 for each preschooler in care, and $25 for each school aged child in care during the month of April.

The state has yet to announce any plans to provide further funding to meet the heightened demand for school-age child care this fall. However, the Anchorage school district has released a staggered in-person school reopening plan, in which youngest children go back first, for the fall.

More information here

Arizona

Arizona received $88 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. Initially, the state prioritized using these funds to fully cover the costs of child care for frontline workers at newly established Arizona Enrichment Centers. On May 14, program eligibility was expanded to include child care for the children of grocery store employees and food bank workers. This program ran through August 31.

To offer continued support to child care providers through the fall, in August, Gov. Doug Ducey (R) and the Department of Economic Security (DES) Child Care Administration announced the launch of the Child Care COVID-19 Grant Program to help child care providers cover the costs of safely remaining open or reopening. This program awards $47 million of the state’s supplemental CCDBG funds to child care providers. Grants are noncompetitive and provide a base award of $300 for each enrolled child who attended at least one day of care in January 2020. Facilities in rural counties will receive an additional incentive of $1,000. If a child care provider is currently closed they must agree to open and provide child care services no later than September 30, 2020, to receive funding. In addition, providers who elect to become DES contracted will receive an additional $50 per child served. Each grant recipient is expected to submit a monthly report to DES about capacity and enrollment. Grant award payments are distributed in 3 installments: 50% on September 15, 25% on Ocober 15, and the remaining 25% on November 16.

Arizona has yet to announce plans to provide funds for expanded school-age care access as schools shift online.

More information here

Arkansas

Arkansas received $41 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state obligated these funds in the spring to support essential workers and child care providers. Acknowledging that new safety requirements placed new burdens on child care providers, Arkansas disbursed $12 million over the summer in one-time supplemental maintenance payments to providers who had been open since March. These payments were intended to offset the costs of deep cleaning and sanitation, and to help providers meet new pandemic procedures for safe operations. Additionally, the state used approximately $18 million of the supplemental funds to help cover the cost of child care for some essential workers in Arkansas, regardless of their income.

In order to support licensed providers so that they could remain open, the state announced in May that it would use an estimated $11 million to supplement voucher payments based on attendance through the end of the public health emergency, as declared by the governor. Specifically, for each child receiving a federal subsidy through the state, providers receive an additional $10 per infant/toddler, $7 per preschool aged child, and $5 school-age child. On August 14, Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) extended the state of emergency for another 60 days, through October 14.

Arkansas has yet to announce how much of their supplemental CCDBG funds they have already used or any plans to provide additional funds to support child care and school-age care providers through the fall. In early August, the Arkansas Department of Education announced a requirement for schools to stay open five days a week.

More information here

California

California received $350 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. It encouraged all programs that could safely remain open to do so to serve the children of essential workers over the summer, but the state did not deem child care to be an essential service.

To provide child care for essential workers, California established an emergency child care program through the state’s existing subsidy system. Households were eligible if all available caregivers were deemed essential, if the family required child care to work, if the family could not work remotely, and if the family had assets of less than $1 million. All other eligibility requirements were waived. The state allocated $50 million in supplemental CCDBG dollars towards this program which was available through July 1. To offer further support for providers throughout the summer, California issued an additional $50 million to cover the costs of cleaning and supplies for providers as they remained open or reopened. With CCDBG flexibility, California recalibrated its Quality Counts program to meet the needs of providers during COVID-19 by shifting professional development online and providing stipends to participants who remained open.

California further supported families and child care providers by paying child care providers full subsidies for all enrolled children, including any copayment or fees usually paid by parents. California continues to provide such funding through the fall to providers who currently hold contracts to care for children with subsidies. Contracted providers can apply now through November for continued funding. Guidance on reimbursements for programs operating remotely or through a hybrid model will be published shortly.

As much of California is still under lock down, and child care has not been deemed essential except for in cases where providers serve essential workers (for which $100 million of the CCDBG dollars are being used), there have not been any new announcements as to how California plans to financially support the child care industry and provide access to school-age care this fall.

More information here

Colorado

Colorado received $42.5 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. With these funds, Colorado established an Emergency Child Care Collaborative to ensure that essential workers had access to child care. Through the emergency program, the state covered 100% of child care tuition for essential workers through May 17.

The state continues to provide assistance to families through the Colorado Child Care Assistance Program. At the start of the pandemic, Gov. Jared Polis (D) issued an executive order requiring the Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS) to use supplemental CCDBG funds to reimburse counties that paid subsidies to providers for absences or closures due to COVID-19. Reimbursements for providers for the event of additional absences were determined by the county’s Human Services Departments, though the CDHS and the Office of Early Childhood encouraged counties to maintain expanded absence payments through June to all providers who were open or had temporarily closed. CDHS recommended that as of July 1, subsidies be paid only to providers that had reopened to provide child care services to families who receive subsidies unless the county identified that a child care provider had extenuating circumstances that hindered their ability to reopen in July.

To continue to bolster the child care industry through the fall, in August 2020, the state opened applications for “sustainability grants” ranging from $1,000 to $3,000 for open and operating child care centers, preschools, family child care homes, and school-age child care centers. These grant awards, paid for by the supplemental CCDBG funds, are based on licensed capacity, not enrollment. These grant payments are expected to be distributed by the end of October and are intended to help child care providers pay salaries, purchase additional cleaning and safety supplies, accommodate smaller group sizes, and develop activities/ programs to serve the children of essential and emergency workers.

Due to recent federal guidance, counties may now pay for the care of school-age children who receive subsidies (grades 1-12) while they are completing remote schoolwork. Child care providers may supplement or build on academic programming as long as it does not supplant remote school instruction. Recognizing that child care providers will fulfill this crucial, additional role this fall, Colorado is offering extra assistance to providers through its Preschool Development Grant. Such assistance includes promoting business planning and sustainability for child care programs and providing centers with micro-grants to assist with licensing or expansion expenses.

Later this fall, the Energize Colorado Gap Fund, a nonprofit developed by the Colorado Nonprofit Development Center, will provide more than $25 million in small business loans and grants to boost small business enterprises that are the economic engines throughout the state. The Office of Early Childhood encourages child care providers to apply for this opportunity.

More information here

Connecticut

Connecticut received $23.5 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. In April, Connecticut used $5.8 million of these funds to provide additional resources to licensed child care providers that stayed open to serve children of essential workers through two programs that were discontinued in June and July. In May, Connecticut’s Office of Early Childhood (OEC) surveyed licensed family child care homes, centers, group homes, and license exempt state funded programs to understand the impact of COVID-19 on child care providers in Connecticut in order to create a new plan for recovery efforts.

Using these results, the OEC designed the next phase of funding to support child care centers and family child care providers during the continuation of the COVID-19 pandemic into the fall. The first part of the funding makes a variety of different subsidies available to child care centers. The Expense Kickstart subsidy, for which $8 million is budgeted, is a one-time, lump-sum grant that helps businesses cover large expenses such as rent, payroll, and utilities. The Supply Subsidy, for which $2.5 million is allocated, helps cover the cost of cleaning and safety supplies. Funding also exists to help businesses pay for background checks and for First-Aid trainings. Additionally, the state offers funding to connect family child care providers to a larger Family Child Care Network to offer professional development, coaching and consultation, and business and administrative support. It also provides funding to support providers’ operational expenses. Subsidies are allocated based on a provider’s licensed capacity. Programs had to be operating in January 2020 to be eligible, though applications for these programs closed on September 19.

The state has yet to announce any plans to offer funds to support providers as they work to meet the heightened demand for school-age care this fall.

More information here

Delaware

Delaware received $9.7 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. Initially, Delaware instituted a phased economic reopening plan that permitted only licensed providers designated as Emergency Child Care Sites to remain open to serve the children of essential workers. “Enhanced Reimbursements” were used to cover health and sanitation costs as well as to pay staff in these programs. On June 15, the state entered Phase 2 of its reopening plan and all licensed child care providers were permitted to reopen in accordance with State public health guidelines. In Phase 2, providers that remained closed became eligible for tiered reimbursement if they continued to pay staff; on July 1, providers that remained closed no longer received enhanced reimbursements.

Delaware plans to use federal Coronavirus Relief Fund dollars and supplemental CCDBG funds to continue enhanced subsidy payments based on enrollment, rather than attendance, through the end of the calendar year. The state will evaluate these programs monthly to assess whether they can continue to run in accordance with federal guidance and any new local restrictions.

Recognizing the urgent need to support school-age children who are engaging in remote learning, the state is working with district and charter schools, licensed child care providers, summer camps, and other organizations to provide child care options for children under 12 who are unable to stay home during the school day.

More information here

Florida

Florida received $223.6 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. Early in the pandemic, the state budgeted $41 million of these funds to support child care providers who remained open and cared for the children of first responders and health care personnel by offering an additional reimbursement of $500 per child. This program ended on July 31.

On May 28, the Florida Department of Education allocated $60.9 million from its funds and from existing CCDBG dollars to help pay subsidies based on enrollment and help providers continue to pay School Readiness and Voluntary Prekindergarten employees. They also covered parent copayments and offered providers mini-grants to cover infrastructure and cleaning costs.

On June 30, the Office of Early Learning announced a two-phase plan for spending $72 million of the supplemental CCDBG funds through two phases of grants based on provider capacity. In Phase 1, the state distributed $49 million via Emergency Child Care Relief Grants to providers who remained open on April 30. Contracted School Readiness providers received an additional bonus for serving infants and toddlers or children with special needs. In Phase 2, the state distributed $19 million via High-Quality Reopening Support Grants to providers who were closed on April 30 and had reopened or planned to reopen by August 1. Providers had to be rated “high quality” to be eligible.

Recognizing that continuous support from the state to assist providers would be necessary through the fall, on September 2, the Office of Early Learning announced a third phase of grants. Similar to Phase 2 grants, the state will offer funds to providers who were closed on April 30 but opened or planned to reopen by August 31. With the exception of public and charter school providers, funding continues to be provided based on total capacity rather than enrollment. This third phase will cost an additional $16,886,271 from the CARES Act CCDBG supplemental funding the state received.

Additionally, the state has redirected $2.4 million from its Preschool Development Grant Funds to support low income and limited English proficient children this fall by giving curriculum guidance to child care providers and digital tools to families.

More information here

Georgia

Georgia received $144.5 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. This money was primarily used to offer emergency child care scholarships for the children of essential workers. Funds became available for first responders, law enforcement, public safety, and medical personnel on April 1 and for food and grocery personnel on May 1.

In May, Georgia launched the Short-Term Assistance Benefit for Licensed Entities (STABLE) program to assist providers in covering their ongoing operating costs. STABLE payments can be used to pay for salaries and benefits for child care employees, tuition relief for families, lease or mortgage payments, utilities, cleaning supplies, and other operating expenses. Funding is distributed according to a providers’ attendance numbers prior to COVID-19 and current operating status. Though the state has said that this program represents only the first phase of its distribution of CARES funds, it has not yet announced any plans for subsequent phases.

The state has yet to announce plans to provide support for child care and school-age care providers through the fall.

More information here

Hawaii

Hawaii received $12 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. In response to the pandemic, families of essential workers qualified for child care subsidies regardless of their income. Existing child care subsidies could be used to hold a space at a licensed and registered provider until care operations resumed. Families facing financial hardship due to COVID-19 could also request waivers for co-payments. At the end of May, Hawaii’s Department of Human Services offered contracts to licensed child care providers and A+ rated child care sites at schools to cover the costs of health and safety measures necessary to resume operation. The deadline to apply was July 31.

Recognizing that the State’s CCDBG funds would not be sufficient to meet the needs of home-based care providers, the Hawai’i Community Foundation established a small grant program to provide relief to licensed home-based child care providers across Hawaii, support providers serving essential workers, and prevent permanent child care closures. This summer, funds were awarded in the amount of $1,000 to $3,000 per applicant. This program was funded by the Home Grown program of the Health Federation of Philadelphia and the Hawaii Resiliency Fund of Hawaii Community Foundation. Due to the high volume of applications that the Hawai’i Community Foundation received, they are no longer accepting new applications.

Hawaii temporarily increased its subsidy payment rates, including those for school age children, from August through December to offer additional support to providers through the fall.

The state has yet to announce plans to provide additional funds to expand access to school-age care through the fall.

More information here

Idaho

Idaho received $20 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. In May, Idaho began to offer one-time, noncompetitive Child Care Emergency Grants to help providers that remained open cover operating costs such as rent, staff salaries, and cleaning supplies through the summer. Grants ranged from up to $2,000 for home-based providers to $15,000 for center-based providers based on licensed capacity.

On July 28, the state launched a second round of grants to help providers remain open during periods of low enrollment and to cover the heightened costs of providing care through the fall. This noncompetitive grant opportunity was available to providers who were open or planned to open by September 15. Monthly awards began in August (or when the provider reopens) and continue each month until available funds are exhausted. Monthly awards range from $500 to $5,000 based on facility size beginning. All eligible applicants will receive at least two monthly award payments. Providers who previously received a grant award from the Idaho Child Care Emergency Grant are eligible for this Phase 2 grant and funds may be used to cover expenses including rent, utilities, supplies and payroll, as well as support for additional health and safety measures taken to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Idaho covered subsidy payments based on enrollment during the beginning of the pandemic but has not recently published information as to whether that policy remains in place.

Child care centers are also encouraged to apply for the Idaho Rebound Cash Grants for Small Businesses, which is a grant supported by the state’s federal Coronavirus Relief Fund dollars to reimburse the costs of business interruption caused by required closure. However, the state has yet to announce any plans to provide funds directly addressing the need for safe, affordable school-age care on remote learning days this fall.

More information here

Illinois

Illinois received $118.4 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state used these funds to provide increased subsidy payment rates to child care providers serving frontline and essential workers (50%), subsidy payments for open and closed providers based on enrollment (35%), and payments to defray the costs of health and safety supplies.

The state recognized that the existing child care business model would not be sustainable under the public health requirements to operate at 70% capacity during the rest of the summer and into the fall. In order to support providers faced reduced operating capacity, on June 11, Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) dedicated $270 million of the state’s Coronavirus Urgent Remediation Emergency (CURE) Fund to establish a Child Care Restoration Grant program. Licensed providers were eligible to apply between July 24 through August 31, as long as they remained open at the time of the application. Awards could be used to cover any cost associated with operating during COVID-19. The state plans to offer a second round of grants at the end of September, although official dates have not yet been set.

Through July, Illinois paid subsidies to providers based on enrollment, rather than attendance. The state has since reverted to attendance-based payments. However, to support providers through periods of low attendance this fall, the Department of Human Services will pay full subsidies for children with at least 50% attendance, rather than the 80% threshold in place prior to the pandemic. Additionally, to create flexibilities for providers that close due to COVID-19 outbreaks, the state offers waivers enabling providers to receive full payments during periodic closures.

Recognizing that providers will need additional support to meet the need for school-age care this fall, on August 7, Illinois announced that, through October, providers were eligible to receive subsidy payments for care provided to school-age children during remote learning hours.

More information here

Indiana

In March, Indiana received $78.8 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state used these funds to provide Temporary Assistance Grants to Retain Child Care that helped providers replace the revenue they did not receive from private-pay children during summer. Over the first month of Temporary Assistance Grants, over 2,000 programs received a total of nearly $20 million in relief. This program ended in July.

In its place, the Child Care Closure Assistance Grant, offered through October, helps providers if they have temporarily closed due to a confirmed COVID-19 case which requires closure of a classroom or the facility. Grants will be awarded to programs for the purpose of continuing to regularly pay child care staff and maintain operations for the time period of the required COVID-19 closure. Grant awards will be capped at $20,000.

To support providers as they work to meet the increased demand for school-age care this fall, Indiana produced guidance encouraging schools to work with community-based programs to provide care during school hours. For families who have chosen to create formal learning collaboratives in their homes, Executive Order 20-40 has temporarily suspended child care home licensure requirements to allow for up to 10 unrelated children in a residential setting on school days when engaging in digital learning. Further, contingent upon certain conditions, such as lack of compensated instructor on site, being met, employers who allow employees to bring their children to work on remote learning days are exempt from child care licensing. Indiana has yet to announce any plans to provide funds to expand school-age care access as schools offer virtual instruction.

More information here

Iowa

In March, Iowa received $32 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state used these funds to provide monthly stipends of $2,000 in May, June, and July to all licensed centers that remained open, and $500 to all registered homes that remained open. To encourage providers to serve essential services personnel, the state doubled this stipend if providers offered a 25% tuition discount to such workers, for a potential total of $4,000 to centers and $1,000 to homes. The state distributed approximately $20 million through this program. For programs that closed, the state also offered one-time Rejuvenation Grants from April through June to help providers reopen.

Additionally, the Department of Human Services lifted the restrictions on the number of absent days paid per month to child care providers who remained open. The state also waived family copayments and reimbursed providers for the copay amounts. This change was backdated to April 6, 2020 and will continue through the length of the Governor’s Emergency Declaration, which has been extended through October 18 with the possibility of further extensions.

Iowa has yet to announce plans to provide additional funds for child care and school-age care providers into the fall. However, Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) strongly encouraged schools to reopen and offer in-person instruction. Most schools have opened though some urban school districts, such as Iowa City, have been granted waivers to teach fully remotely due to high case positivity rates.

More information here

Kansas

In March, Kansas received $30.7 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state used these funds to create the Hero Relief Program, which offered child care subsidies for essential workers and provided financial support directly to child care providers. The program also provided grants to help defray operations costs for providers during the pandemic. Additionally, in April, one-time Emergency Worker Support Bonuses were made available for providers who remained open to care for the children of essential workers. The deadline to apply for the Hero Relief programs was extended to September 15, that it might meet the needs of essential workers and child care providers alike through the fall.

On July 26, Gov. Laura Kelly (D) announced the expansion of the Hero Relief program to include a revenue replacement grant for all licensed providers to assist providers who lost income from child care subsidies during the pandemic. To support school-age care providers as the fall approached, the state permitted school-age programs to participate. Child care providers are encouraged to apply for this grant while funding is still available if they have experienced a measured decrease in subsidy payments.

This fall, Kansas has announced a new program, funded by its federal Coronavirus Relief Fund dollars, which connects licensed child care providers to health consultants for advice on how to meet CDC health and safety recommendations to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Kansas has recently allocated $1.7 million of its federal Preschool Development Grant dollars to the creation of five subgrants to locally develop and test solutions to the needs and gaps in Kansas’ early childhood care system. Effective solutions will be scaled up in the future. The goals of the program include increasing access to child care, particularly in rural communities, and improving quality of care. Applications close in mid-October.

Kansas is also using its federal Coronavirus Relief Fund dollars for remote learning support grants to address the current need for alternative care for families adversely impacted by remote learning situations and to ensure that school age children are in safe and secure settings while engaging in remote learning. The grants provide support for child care providers to cover their new operational costs and payroll demands and to expand their services to accommodate school age children. All licensed early childhood and youth program providers are eligible to apply. Applications open on September 30 and will be accepted on a rolling basis.

More information here

Kentucky

In March, the state received $67.7 million in supplemental funds through the CARES Act. The state used these funds to offer subsidy payments to providers based on enrollment, rather than attendance regardless of whether the program was open or temporarily closed. Additionally, the state covered the cost of parent copays to avoid placing additional financial strain on parents during this time. According to Child Care Aware of Kentucky, the state had distributed all supplemental CCDBG funds by September 1.

As a result, the Kentucky Child Care Assistance Program is slowly phasing out paying for co-pays and offering flexibility on subsidy payments. Effective July 15, the state suspended paying parent co-pays for licensed, certified, and registered child care providers. On October 1, the state will revert to attendance-based subsidy payments for licensed, certified, and registered providers.

Recognizing that access to child care is a prerequisite for reopening the economy, on September 3, Kentucky began offering startup bonuses of $2,500 to new home-based child care providers to help them become fully licensed.

Kentucky has yet to announce any plans to provide funds to expand school-age access as schools shift online.

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Louisiana

In March, Louisiana received $67.6 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. Louisiana distributed these funds via two separate programs designed to support families and providers. First, the Emergency Child Care Development Fund Response helped defray operating costs for providers that remained open but were required to reduce their capacity to comply with health and safety guidelines. Second, the Emergency Child Care Relief Grant enabled open providers to continue paying staff salaries and to cover other costs associated with remaining viable through the pandemic.

To provide continued relief throughout the summer, Louisiana offered a second round of grants beginning June 12 to providers that were operational by June 1. On July 16, the state announced that it would dedicate $11 million to offer a third round of grants to providers that were operational as of August 1. To incentivize providers to provide care for children receiving subsidies, providers received an additional $25 per subsidy-authorized child enrolled by August 1. The state indicated that it would provide a separate grant opportunity at a later date for centers that had closed and were not open as of August 1 due to COVID-19 exposure.

Louisiana has yet to announce any plans to support school-age care as schools shift online.

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Maine

Maine received $11 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state used its CARES funds to provide child care subsidies for essential employees who exceeded the income-eligibility threshold, available through June 30. In June, the state also provided a one-time stipend to all licensed child care providers and all license-exempt nonrelative providers participating in the subsidy program. Closed providers received $75 per licensed slot, while open providers received $175 per licensed slot. The bulk of the state’s CARES Act funding was disbursed through these two programs.

On July 17, Gov. Janet Mills (D) announced that the state would invest $8.4 million of its Coronavirus Relief Fund dollars to offer continued support for providers through the summer and into the fall. These funds were used to provide center-based providers with up to $9,200 and family-based providers with up to $950 to cover COVID-related expenses. The Maine Department of Health and Human services used the remaining $2.8 million to provide grants to providers who were operational by September 8. Child care centers received an additional $2,800 in aid and family-based providers received an additional $550 in August.

Maine determined these amounts based on estimates calculated by the Bipartisan Policy Center in a letter to Congress. The letter noted that child care centers would need $12,000 and home-based providers would need $1,500 to reopen and follow health and safety measures. On July 17, in a press release from Maine’s Center for Disease Control, the state mentioned that Linda Smith, the Director of BPC’s Early Childhood Initiative, praised Maine’s efforts: “The Bipartisan Policy Center applauds these re-opening funds to child care providers which will help ensure parents have access to reliable, safe, and quality child care during these challenging times. The risk of permanent closure is too great. This support demonstrates Maine’s commitment to help both family child care and center-based programs survive while supporting families returning to the workforce.”

More information here

Maryland

Maryland received $45 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state used these funds to cover child care costs for essential workers through July 24, when the funding was no longer available. Additionally, providers were paid subsidies based on enrollment, rather than attendance during the summer. However, as of July 20, due to the lack of additional funds, the state reverted to attendance-based payments and no longer covers parent copays.

Recognizing the need to expand the supply of child care providers this fall, Maryland announced on September 1, that it would dedicate funds from the state’s Preschool Development Grant Birth through Five to offer Family Child Care Start-up Grants of $800 to home-based providers and $1,600 to center-based providers. These one-time grants are intended to assist new providers with the costs of opening child care programs.

Maryland schools are beginning this year virtually, while as of August 27, 78% of Maryland child care centers had reopened. Maryland parents have been vocal about the need for more spots for school-age children in child care programs. In an online address to the public on August 27, state Superintendent Karen Salmon commented that the state “has received countless requests to raise the capacity restrictions on child care programs and expand the number of children that are eligible to attend for the beginning of this school year.”

“However, it would be illogical to deny children the opportunity to return to the classroom only to increase the number of children congregating in another location, essentially serving as a de facto replacement for a school environment,” Salmon said. “As school systems reconsider their decisions to return to in-person instruction, we will also continue to reassess whether we can increase the capacity in child care classrooms.”

More information here

Massachusetts

Massachusetts received $45.7 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state temporarily closed all nonemergency child care programs through June 29 except those providing care for vulnerable children and the children of essential workers. Providers who remained open as Exempt Emergency Child Care Providers were able to receive grants to help defray the cost of operations. Centers received $2,500 each week per classroom—for up to 2 classrooms—and home-based providers received $1,000 each week for up to 8 children. All other child care programs were authorized to reopen on June 26, and the designations of Emergency Child Care Provider were rescinded.

In anticipation of beginning reopening in early July, Massachusetts announced that it would offer reopening grants to providers who participate in the state subsidy program, in order to support child care programs through periods of low attendance and capacity restrictions. Providers who remained open as Exempt Emergency Child Care Providers were also eligible for these grants. The state indicated that grants would be offered on a per-provider basis for family child care providers and a per-classroom basis for centers and school-age care programs. However, since the announcement in July, details of these opening grants and how to apply for them have not been announced.

To provide stable income to child care providers through the closure and reopening, the state continues to reimburse providers for all child care subsidies based on enrollment, regardless of operating status. To ease financial burdens on families, the Department of Early Education and Care is covering the cost of parent fees for subsidized families enrolled in care for the duration of the state of emergency, under which the state continues to operate.

Recognizing that many families will need access to safe, affordable school-age care options for their children on remote learning days this fall, the state produced guidance indicating that licensed child care providers may now serve school-age children during online school hours. In an order on August 28, Gov. Charlie Baker (R) authorized the creation of “remote learning enrichment programs” under the direction of the Department of Early Education and Care. Providers may also apply for new licenses through an expedited licensing process to expand their capacity to serve school-age children. Families may set up informal arrangements under the shared supervision of parents or guardians to support children during remote learning activities without any license if they comply with certain criteria, such as restrictions on group size, type of supervision, and compensation.

More information here

Michigan

Michigan received $100 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act and added $30 million of existing CCDBG funds at the end of April to create a Child Care Relief Fund. The state used these funds to cover copayments through the summer and offer grants to providers who were open and serving children of essential workers. Providers were required to reduce weekly rates for families by 10% to receive these funds. Grant funds were eligible to be used to cover costs such as mortgages, utilities, insurance, and/or payroll.

The $100 million in supplemental CCDBG funds were distributed via three rounds of grants in April, May, and June. Grant amounts were calculated as 30% of providers’ monthly tuition bills. After receiving the state funds, providers were to give families a credit on their next tuition statement. The state used what remained of the $100 million to provide two additional rounds of incentive payments for providers that remained open—$1,000 for centers and $500 for home-based providers—in July and August. To reduce the cost of child care for families through the summer, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) authorized an additional $125 million for child care subsidy payments on July 1. These funds were distributed as tuition credit reimbursements.

More information here

Minnesota

Minnesota received $48.1 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state used $30 million of these funds to support a Peacetime Emergency Childcare Grant program for licensed providers who offered child care to the children of emergency responders.

To provide additional support for providers through the summer and into the fall, Gov. Tim Walz (D) announced on July 29 that the state would direct $56 million of the state’s federal Coronavirus Relief Fund dollars to issue additional grants. Grants were available for child care providers that planned to remain open through September. Licensed home-based providers were eligible to receive up to $1,200 per month for July, August, and September, while centers could receive up to $8,500 per month. The state permitted providers to use grant awards to cover increased costs or lost revenue resulting from COVID-19-related business closures, to provide incentives or overtime to working staff, or to comply with health and safety guidance. Nonprofit programs that provide full-time care for school-age children in the summer months were also eligible for this grant.

Beginning in March, Minnesota paid subsidies to Child Care Assistance providers for up to one month based on pre-pandemic enrollment—rather than attendance—regardless of operating status. To assist providers through periods of variable attendance during the fall, effective October 1, providers will still receive payments on days when subsidized children are absent. These absent days will not count toward the normal 25 maximum paid-absent days policy. Additionally, the state will continue to pay subsidies based on enrollment for up to 30 days during child care program closures.

Recognizing the need for school-age care this fall, Minnesota encourages school districts and charter schools to provide school-age care during remote learning days for the children of essential workers. On September 2, Minnesota published guidance for families and providers about receiving subsidies for child care during the remote school day.

More information here

Mississippi

Mississippi received $47 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state used these funds to cover child care costs for essential workers and to pay subsidies and copayments providers based on enrollment, rather than attendance, regardless of operating status, through July. Effective August 1, the state only offers enrollment-based payments to providers that were open. However, providers who have been temporarily closed due to COVID-related conditions by the Mississippi Department of Health will continue to receive payments during the closure. Through September 30, providers receiving subsidy payments will receive enhanced rates.

To help sustain the state’s child care system into the fall, Mississippi launched a grant program in August. This program offers one-time payments based on provider type and capacity through November. This grant program and continued subsidy payments will be funded by the state’s additional child care investment of $47 million in August.

The state has yet to announce plans to offer further support for school-age care providers through the fall.

More information here

Missouri

In March, Missouri received $66.5 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state used these funds to pay subsidies to providers based on enrollment, rather than attendance, through June. Effective July 1, the state reverted to attendance-based payments. Child care providers that remained open to provide care for the children of essential personnel during the summer were offered one-time grants ranging from $1,000 to $7,500 through June. The state provided further support by offering providers who operated during nontraditional hours $100 monthly stipends per child from April through June.

In order to help families afford child care through the fall, Missouri offers temporary child care subsidies for 90 days to help low-income, unemployed parents find work. Additionally, the state expanded the income-eligibility threshold for child care subsidies from 138% to 215% of the Federal Poverty Level. Both of these policies expire December 31.

Recognizing the need to support providers as they work to meet the heightened need for school-age care this fall, Missouri published guidance indicating that providers may receive subsidy payments for care provided to school-age children during remote learning hours through December 31.

More information here

Montana

In March, Montana received $10.1 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state primarily used these funds to offer Emergency Grants for child care programs that were open or planned to reopen, and to offer Temporary Emergency Child Care Support grants to non-licensed providers caring for the children of essential workers. By June 23, 770 licensed providers received emergency grants. On August 11, Gov. Steve Bullock (D) dedicated $50 million of the state’s federal Coronavirus Relief Fund dollars to provide continued support for providers and to expand child care for school-age children through the fall.

Of these additional funds, $8 million will be issued as supplemental payments beginning September 1 to licensed and registered providers in order to maintain and expand the number of child care slots available. While the state paid subsidies to open providers based on enrollment, rather than attendance through May, as of June 1, providers only receive subsidy payments for children who attend at least 85% of the authorized time.

Acknowledging the need for school-age care options during school closures and virtual instruction this fall, $30 million of the new funds will be used to offer grants to providers that offer school-age care and serve children from low-income families. Providers may receive $1,000 per school-age child, per month, based on average daily attendance. Funding must be used by December 31.

More information here

Nebraska

In March, Nebraska received $20 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state primarily distributed these funds in June through one-time Child Care Stabilization Grants to help providers cover the cost of reduced attendance, and one-time Incentive to Reopen grants to help providers cover the costs of reopening. The state has yet to announce plans offering additional financial assistance for providers through the fall.

Providers will continue to receive subsidy payments based on licensed capacity, rather than attendance, a policy that began in August. Additionally, to help families address their school-age care needs this fall, Nebraska’s Department of Health and Human Services released guidance informing providers that they may receive subsidy payments for school-age care provided to subsidy-eligible students during virtual school hours.

More information here

Nevada

In March, Nevada received $32.9 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state primarily used the funds to pay for enrollment-based subsidies and to offer competitive NV CARES Act Grants to cover up to three months of provider expenses. The application deadline was May 29 and providers received funds in two installments through July. The state has yet to announce plans offering additional financial assistance past July to support child care providers or to expand access to school-age care through the fall.

More information here

New Hampshire

In March, New Hampshire received $7 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state primarily used these funds to establish its Emergency Child Care Program (ECCP) that provided child care for essential workers and to cover parent copayments and subsidies, regardless of a program’s operating status. Additionally, a portion of the supplemental CCDBG funds were used to offer staff incentive payments at $5 per hour, per employee, to help providers retain their employees.

In May, Gov. Chris Sununu (R) authorized $25 million of the state’s Coronavirus Relief Fund federal dollars for additional child care support, recognizing that the supplemental CCDBG funds from the CARES Act were not sufficient to sustain the state’s vulnerable child care industry through the summer. The state distributed $16.6 million of these additional funds to providers in June through Child Care Recovery and Stabilization Program grants. New Hampshire’s DHHS received 419 applications—only 5 providers did not apply—and granted awards to all but one of these applications. The state distributed a second round of funding in September to providers who received round one grants at a total cost of $3 million.

Effective August 3, New Hampshire updated its subsidy payment policy which now allows providers to receive full payments each month for children who attend care at least 85% of the time. Providers will also be paid for 10 days of COVID-19-related absences each month. However, as of September, the state no longer covers 50% of parent copayments.

New Hampshire notes that $2.9 million of the additional Coronavirus Relief Fund dollars were also spent to cover staff incentive payments and that, as of September 17, $2.5 million of that $25 million remains. In order to support providers as they work to meet the increased demand for school-age care this fall, New Hampshire will pay full-time subsidy rates to providers who care for school-age children during remote learning hours from September 7 through November 30. In November, the state will determine whether funds are available to continue this practice.

More information here

New Jersey

In March, New Jersey received $63 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state primarily used these funds to cover child care costs for essential workers throughout the summer, provide enhanced subsidies, and offer grants to help providers cover health and safety costs as they reopened in June. To continue supporting child care providers and to help families cover school-age care costs through the fall and winter, on August 28, Gov. Phil Murphy (D) dedicated $250 million of the state’s Coronavirus Relief Fund federal dollars to new child care assistance programs.

New Jersey paid child care subsidies based on enrollment, rather than attendance, during March, April, and May, and paid an additional $100 per child to providers who remained open. The state does not indicate whether it will continue paying based on enrollment through the fall. However, the new Coronavirus Relief Fund dollars will be used to pay providers an increased payment rate of $75 per subsidy-eligible child, per month, through December 31. Additionally, to help providers who are open, or who plan to reopen by October 1, cover added health and safety costs, the state offers grants ranging from $2,500 to $17,000 based on provider type and licensed capacity.

Recognizing that families increasingly need access to affordable school-age care as schools shift online, the state will offer child care subsidies to help families with incomes up to 200% of the Federal Poverty Level cover the cost of school-age care during the virtual school day. For families not eligible for state child care subsidies, but who make less than $75,000 annually, New Jersey will set aside $150 million of the Coronavirus Relief Fund dollars to defray the cost of school-age care. Both school-age care programs require that funds be used only at licensed child care centers or homes and will be available through the end of the calendar year.

More information here

New Mexico

In March, New Mexico received $29.4 million in CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state primarily used these funds to offer Recovery and Stabilization grants to providers through May and to offer incentive pay payments to child care workers through June. The state has yet to announce plans offering additional financial assistance to support child care providers or to expand access to school-age care through the fall. However, New Mexico child care providers are warning state lawmakers that they need assistance to remain viable through the fall.

Through June, New Mexico paid subsidies based on pre-pandemic enrollment, rather than monthly enrollment as the state typically does. However, as of August, the state has reverted to payments based on monthly enrollment and providers lose funding when a child does not attend care for five consecutive days.

The state has not dedicated funding to help providers and families address the need for school-age care this fall. However, a Family, Friend, and Neighbor care program remained open in August to offer payments to family, friends, or neighbors caring for fewer than four nonresident children. The state also published guidance in August indicating that child care for school-age children operated by public or private schools is licensed-exempt.

More information here

New York

In March, New York received $163 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state released these funds in three stages “in order to be responsive to providers throughout the evolution of the pandemic in New York,” said Janice Molnar, Deputy Commissioner of New York’s Division of Child Care Services, in communication with BPC in late September. The first stage of funding early in the summer was primarily used to cover copayments for families affected by COVID-19, expand subsidy eligibility to families with up to 85% of the state median income, assist providers with PPE costs, and provide child care scholarships for the children of essential workers. On June 23, Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) announced the release of the second stage of funds: $65 million for the NY Forward Child Care Expansion Incentive program. This program distributed $20 million to cover the costs of materials like partitions and short-term rental space that providers needed to reopen and expand capacity, and $45 million in grants to pay for 50% of the costs to open new classrooms. On September 10, Cuomo announced the release of $88.6 million, the final stage of supplemental CCDBG funding, to support the state’s child care system through December 31.

Of these funds, $20 million will support child care subsidies for the children of essential workers. Families of essential workers whose income is less than 300% of the Federal Poverty Level ($78,600 for a family of four) will receive fully subsidized child care. Another $20 million will be distributed as grants to help providers cover the costs of altering their facilities to meet health and safety requirements.

Recognizing the increased need for school-age care options while children learn online this fall, New York plans to offer an additional $20 million of these funds to school-age care providers who have been displaced and need assistance paying for rent through December. The final $28.6 million in new aid is intended to help providers expand their programs by fronting half the cost (up to $6,000) of opening a new child care classroom. Applications for these four grants will be accepted on a rolling basis through December.

More information here

North Carolina

In March, North Carolina received $118 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state primarily used these funds to provide operational grants to providers through June, pay enhanced subsidy rates and cover copays, and issue bonuses to child care employees during the summer. In early September, the North Carolina General Assembly and Gov. Roy Cooper (D) dedicated $35 million of the state’s Coronavirus Relief Fund federal dollars to continue supporting providers and families through the fall.

The additional funds will be used to offer another round of operational grants to open providers, scaled according to the provider’s quality rating, pre-COVID-19 enrollment, infant-toddler enrollment, and percent of children who receive subsidies. Child care programs may use the funds to cover staff salaries and other costs related to providing care during COVID-19.

North Carolina paid subsidies based on pre-COVID-19 enrollment for all open or closed providers during March, April, and May, and open providers continued to receive enrollment-based payments through June, July, and August. The state reverted to attendance-based payments in September and no longer covers parent copayments like it did through August.

Acknowledging that parents face the challenge of finding affordable child care for their school-age children this fall, the legislature and governor further authorized $8 million of the state’s Coronavirus Relief Fund federal dollars to help parents meet the costs of school-age care. Parents may receive a direct assistance payment allowable for use at licensed child care programs or registered community-based organizations that offer school-age care. Families with incomes below 150% of the income-eligibility threshold for free or reduced lunch will receive priority.

More information here

North Dakota

In March, North Dakota received $6 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state used these funds to offer Child Care Emergency Operating Grants to licensed providers who remained open or had to close due to health concerns. The North Dakota Emergency Commission and state legislature extended the program multiple times throughout the summer, and through July, the program had distributed $26 million to support providers. With the grant set to expire on August 14, the state provided an additional $12 million to fund the program through December 31, bringing the total investment to $41 million—most of which the state funded with federal CARES Act dollars that were not originally dedicated to child care.

In April, May, and June, North Dakota paid subsidies regardless of attendance to providers not receiving grant payments. However, providers who received grant funding during those months were only paid $50 per child, per month, for children who did not attend more than 40 hours during the month. On September 2, the state released guidance indicating that these subsidy policies will remain in place until further notice.

North Dakota has yet to release plans to provide additional funding for school-age care this fall.

More information here

Ohio

In March, Ohio received $117 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state primarily used the funds to pay emergency child care providers who stayed open for frontline workers, and to offer monthly grants through August that helped providers cover increased health and safety expenses and payroll costs during periods of low attendance.

Effective August 9, Ohio’s child care providers were permitted to return to normal group sizes and staff-child ratios. However, the state recognizes that many providers will need to continue taking these safety precautions through the fall and maintain reduced ratios and class sizes; therefore, the state has extended its Ratio Support Grant through September. Providers may receive a monthly grant ranging from $273 to $12,503 per month based on the number of children they served during the month and their quality star rating.

Additionally, in order to support the reopening of providers, the state extended its COVID-19 Support Payments through September. Providers reopening for the first time since March may receive a payment ranging from $250 to $3,375 based on provider type and quality star rating to be used to pay for the cleaning supplies, PPE, payroll expenses, and other costs associated with reopening.

During the months of March, April, and May, the state continued to pay subsidies to closed providers based on pre-pandemic enrollment. This practice ended on May 31, and from June through December, open providers will only be able to bill for 20 absent days per child.

Acknowledging the heightened need for school-age care options this fall, Ohio offers a new Temporary Pandemic School-Age Child Care Center license intended to facilitate the development of temporary school-age care programs. The state has also published guidance indicating that providers may receive subsidy payments based on attendance for school-age care provided during virtual school hours.

More information here

Oklahoma

In March, Oklahoma received $50 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state primarily used these funds to provide up to 60 days of child care for families with parents seeking employment—eligibility requirements waived—and to deploy the Kith.care program which paid family members $25 per day, per child if they cared for the children of frontline workers. To support struggling providers through the fall, on July 30, Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) dedicated $9.6 million of the state’s Coronavirus Relief Fund federal dollars to provide additional child care relief.

The funds were automatically distributed as one-time Child Care Quality and Sustainability Payments to the state’s more than 2,200 licensed providers—no application was necessary. Funds were disbursed by September 15 and amounts ranged from $500 to $10,000 based on provider type and quality star rating.

Prior to the pandemic, providers received subsidy payments for up to seven absent days per child, per month. In March, Oklahoma increased the number of paid absent days to 10, and from April through July enhanced the subsidy rate by $5 per child. The state has yet to publish changes to these subsidy policies.

Recognizing the heightened need for school-age care this fall and the strain it will put on child care providers, the Oklahoma Department of Human Services announced on July 6 that providers will receive full-time reimbursement rates for school-age children who attend part-time on remote learning days. Additionally, the state announced other funding opportunities available to child care providers including technology grants to help students access the tools they need to learn remotely.

More information here

Oregon

In March, Oregon received $38.6 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. In order to help defray the costs of providing emergency child care, the state used $8 million of these funds to offer providers an initial round of Emergency Child Care grants in May. Oregon used another $7 million to cover parent copays, pay subsidies for up to one month of absences per child, and to continue subsidy payments to temporarily closed providers. In early June, the state legislature dedicated an additional $30 million of the state’s Coronavirus Relief Fund federal dollars to offer further emergency child care grants.

$5.3 million of these additional funds were used to offer a second round of noncompetitive Emergency Child Care grants in July. Licensed and licensed exempt providers—including Family, Friend, and Neighbor providers—who agreed to care for children through the end of September, or agreed to reopen by September 1, were eligible to receive between $700 and $14,000 based on provider type. To ensure providers have the funding they need to continue operating through the fall, the state obligated another $23 million of these additional funds to offer another payment to providers who received either a first or second round grant and agreed to remain open through December. These “supplemental” payments ranged from $800 to $16,500 according to provider type and are to be used to cover any operating expenses related to providing continued care. In an effort to support communities at high risk of losing child care supply, the state distributed enhanced grant amounts to providers located in state-determined Opportunity Zones (not related to those determined by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017).

More information here

Pennsylvania

In March, Pennsylvania received $106 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state used $51 million of these funds to offer grants to its nearly 7,000 home-based and center-based providers through June. After the completion of a study of the state’s child care system amid COVID-19 by Penn State researchers, Pennsylvania decided to distribute the remaining funds in July.

On August 28, in order to support the vulnerable child care industry through the fall, Gov. Tom Wolf (D) announced an additional $116 million was made available for child care in the state’s enacted budget. The state will distribute these new funds in September to all licensed providers through grants ranging from $2,100 to $48,600 according to the number of children each provider serves.

From March through August, Pennsylvania paid subsidies to providers based on pre-pandemic enrollment, rather than attendance. However, effective September 1, providers will receive payments based on attendance.

Recognizing the heightened need for school-age care this fall, the Office of Child Development and Early Learning increased subsidy rates for school-age care offered during remote school hours. Effective August 31, providers will receive a blended rate—the combination of a part-time and full-time rate—instead of traditional part-time rates because providers will likely care for students for more full-time days than part-time payments are intended to cover.

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Rhode Island

In March, Rhode Island received $8 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state required all child care providers to remain closed through June 1. In order to support providers through these closures, the Rhode Island Department of Human Services primarily used their funds to pay subsidies to providers based on pre-pandemic enrollment until June 1 and cover parent copays.

Child care providers were permitted to reopen in June, pending approval of the COVID-19 plan they were required to submit to the Department of Human Services. From June 1 to August 28, only providers who reopened were reimbursed for subsidies based on enrollment. Additionally, the state increased subsidy rates to the 75th percentile of the market rate through October in order to help providers meet the heightened operating costs during COVID-19.

Rhode Island has yet to announce plans to provide further funds to support child care during the fall. However, anticipating the need to support providers amid a surge in school-age care demand, Rhode Island produced guidance indicating that providers may receive subsidy payments for care provided to school-age children during remote learning hours.

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South Carolina

In March, South Carolina received $63.7 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state primarily used these funds to offer child care assistance for families of essential workers, to offer child care sanitation grants, and to pay subsidies to providers based on enrollment through August. Effective August 31, the South Carolina Department of Social Services began paying subsidies based on attendance.

The state has yet to announce plans to provide further funding for child care providers. However, in order to ensure families have access to affordable school-age care this fall, the state has released guidance indicating that child care providers may receive subsidy payments for care provided to school-age children during remote learning hours. Additionally, on August 1, South Carolina began taking applications for Certificates of Temporary Operations from organizations interested in providing school-age care this fall.

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South Dakota

In March, South Dakota received $9 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state primarily used these funds to offer a one-time grant to licensed providers through June. Awards ranged from $2,520 to $26,000 according to provider size and type. On August 18, the Department of Social Services reported that $3 million of the state’s supplemental CCDBG funds were distributed to providers through this program. The state has yet to announce plans about the distribution of remaining funds or plans to help providers and families address the need for school-age care this fall.

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Tennessee

In March, Tennessee received $82.4 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state used these funds to fully cover child care costs for essential workers, pay subsidies based on enrollment, and offer Disaster/Emergency Response and Recovery Operations Cost Grants that help defray differences between provider rates and subsidy payments.

During the summer months, Tennessee paid enhanced subsidy rates to providers based on enrollment, rather than attendance, and covered all parent copays. To provide continued support for parents and providers this fall, the state extended these policies through December 31. The Department of Human Services will also continue to cover child care costs for essential workers through the end of the calendar year.

Additionally, the state extended the application window for the Disaster/Emergency Grant. Providers in need of reopening assistance or stabilization support may continue to apply through September 30. As many schools shifted to online instruction, the Department of Human Services partnered with the YMCA and Boys & Girls Clubs of Tennessee to offer free school-age care options for the families of essential workers. These temporary school-age care arrangements will be available through the fall, and the state produced guidance indicating that child care providers may receive subsidies for providing school-age care during hours of remote learning.

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Texas

In March, Texas received $371.6 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state authorized $100 million of these funds to cover three months of child care costs for essential workers during the summer. Another $100 million was authorized to pay subsidies to providers at a 25% enhanced rate.

On August 20, the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) dedicated an additional $53.8 million of the supplemental CCDBG funds to extend enhanced subsidy payments through December. An additional $19.3 million was distributed to Local Workforce Development Boards to be used to defray the higher costs of providing child care during the pandemic. However, the TWC announced on August 24 that Stabilization Grants for closed child care providers would be discontinued effective September 30, as the purpose of this funding program was to offer temporary assistance for providers as they reopened.

When schools first closed at the beginning of the pandemic, Texas identified the need for affordable school-age care and covered full-time child care for students who originally received part-time afterschool care. Therefore, the state has focused on also providing necessary school-age care support this fall. The TWC announced on August 20 that it authorized an additional $33 million in supplemental CCDBG dollars for school-age care assistance and that providers may receive subsidies for school-age care provided during online school hours.

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Utah

In March, Utah received $40.4 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. In order to support providers through closures and variable attendance levels from March through September, the state used these funds to pay subsidies to both open and closed providers based on enrollment, rather than attendance. On September 2, the Utah Department of Workforce Services announced that it will revert to attendance-based payments for all providers effective October 1.

However, to provide continued support for child care programs through the fall, the state has extended its Operations Grant, which was introduced in April and was set to discontinue on September 30. Licensed child care providers that received an Operations Grant award during the summer are permitted to amend their grant payment agreement so that they will receive a support payment from the state each month from October through December 2020.

The state recognizes that working parents need safe, affordable school-age care on virtual school days and that child care providers need financial support to ensure they have the capacity to meet this need. Therefore, providers offering school-age care this fall may apply for the Department of Workforce Services’ new School-Age Program Grant which opened for applications on September 4 and is funded with the state’s CCDBG funds. Awards for this noncompetitive grant range from $4,900 to $19,600 per month based on the provider’s operating capacity and expected operating costs. The state indicates that this contract-based grant will allow providers receiving the grant to continue invoicing for their monthly expenses with a projected end date of May 2021.

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Vermont

In March, Vermont received $4.4 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state used these funds to support providers that cared for the children of essential workers and to offer financial support for closed programs. Programs that operated as emergency child care received $125 per child each week on top of tuition that was either paid for by subsidy or by the parent. Providers that were closed received subsidized tuition based on enrollment, rather than attendance, if they committed to paying all staff and asking families to pay half their usual tuition (or copay if they received subsidy). The state covered full tuition if families did not cover half the tuition. These payments ended May 30.

In May, the Vermont Department of Children and Families received an additional $6 million in non-CCDBG funds to offer Restart Stipends intended to help providers meet the costs of reopening amid the pandemic. Stipends were issued between May 27 and June 17, and amounts were based on the number of children a provider served and the number of weeks the provider planned to operate from June through August.

To provide continued support for the state’s child care providers into the fall, the Vermont legislature approved an additional $12 million of the state’s Coronavirus Relief Fund federal dollars in August for Operational Relief Grants. Licensed and unlicensed providers with revenue losses incurred between March and October due to COVID-19 were eligible to apply for this competitive grant by August 26 and received an award based on their expenses and revenue losses. To address the heightened need for school-age care this fall, providers caring for school-age children were permitted to apply for this grant.

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Virginia

In March, Virginia received $70.8 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. To support child care programs through periods of low attendance throughout the summer, the state used these funds to offer Incentive Grants through June. Open licensed providers were eligible to receive $25 multiplied by half the provider’s licensed capacity for each week. Virginia also covered parent copays through June and continued to pay subsidies to closed providers. On June 10, Gov. Ralph Northam dedicated $10 million from the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund to help expand early childhood supports.

As of September, the state has $1.3 billion of its Coronavirus Relief Fund federal dollars remaining. Virginia’s House Appropriations Committee proposed a state budget in September which would dedicate $60 million of these remaining funds for child care stabilization supports and another $33.2 million for schools to partner with child care providers to meet the need for school-age care. It is important to note that these allocations are proposals, not final spending amounts, and they do not reflect the position of the state senate or the Northam administration.

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Washington

In March, Washington received $58.6 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. To support providers through periods of low attendance, the state used $29 million of these funds to offer one-time grants ranging from $6,500 to $14,000 to open providers in May. Additionally, Washington waived parent copays and paid subsidies to providers based on enrollment, rather than attendance, through June.

The state has yet to announce plans to provide additional funds to support child care providers through the fall. Washington’s Department of Children, Youth, and Families issued guidance on August 27 indicating that child care providers may receive subsidies for school-age care offered during remote learning hours. However, the state has not released any further plans to address the need for safe, affordable school-age care options this fall.

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West Virginia

In March, West Virginia received $23 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state used these funds to cover child care costs for essential workers. Select child care programs were registered as Critical Child Care sites and the West Virginia Bureau for Children and Families paid these providers enhanced (Tier III) subsidy rates to care for the children of essential workers.

On September 16, Gov. Jim Justice (R) announced that he committed an additional $6 million of the state’s Coronavirus Relief Fund federal dollars to continue supporting the child care industry into the fall. The state has yet to announce how it will distribute these funds.

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Wisconsin

In March, Wisconsin received $51.6 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. Between May 18 through July 10, the state fully distributed these funds through Incentive Pay grants that helped providers continue to pay staff, and Support for Temporarily Closed Child Care Programs grants that helped providers cover the added costs of reopening. Recognizing the need for continued support as the pandemic persists, Wisconsin has dedicated an additional $30 million of its Coronavirus Relief Fund federal dollars to offer another round of grants in September.

Licensed or certified providers may apply for these funds through two new grant programs under Child Care Counts. Payment Program A offers noncompetitive grants to help providers cover the costs of PPE, sanitation supplies, and structural changes necessary for maintaining high quality care. Grant amounts include a base payment up to $7,000 for open providers or providers who are closed but plan to reopen by October 19, and an additional payment for open providers ranging from $100 to $1,200 per child depending on the age of the child and the number of hours the child was in attendance during the first week of September. Payment Program B provides funds to be used as incentive pay to assist providers in retaining employees. Providers may receive a base amount of up to $2,000 for staff recruitment and an additional $1,200 to $2,000 per staff for retention. Applications are open from September 9 through 18 for both programs, and award recipients will be notified on September 26.

The state also recognizes that families need school-age care options as schools shift to virtual instruction. To facilitate partnerships between Local Education Agencies and child care providers, the Department of Children and Families published extensive guidance on how providers can amend their license or relocate in order to work with schools. An expedited licensing process will also enable new providers to open quickly and safely to meet school-age care need. The state encourages families to apply for the state’s existing child care subsidy if they have a school-age child who will need child care during the virtual school day.

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Wyoming

In March, Wyoming received $4.1 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state has fully obligated these funds. Through a third party, Kids First, Wyoming used $1.5 million for one-time grants to licensed centers and $1.8 million for grants to other providers including those that are license-exempt. Remaining funds were used to pay subsidies to providers based on enrollment, rather than attendance. In addition, Gov. Mark Gordon (R) recently allocated $243,000 of the state’s Coronavirus Relief Fund federal dollars to fund early childhood education transitions.

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Alabama

In March, Alabama received $65 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state used $39.3 million of these funds to offer its “Sustainability Payment” program to help child care providers remain open and make up for lost income due to lower capacity levels throughout the summer.

In March, Alabama received $65 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state used $39.3 million of these funds to offer its “Sustainability Payment” program to help child care providers remain open and make up for lost income due to lower capacity levels throughout the summer. This program ended on August 1 and the last “sustainability payment” was issued on August 24.

To further support providers through the end of the summer, on July 10, the Alabama Department of Human Resources (DHR) announced that applications were open for a new grant program to support child care providers who remained open and incentivize more providers to reopen. Grant amounts were based on each provider’s daytime licensed capacity with a base rate of $300 per child. To be eligible for a grant, licensed providers had to be open or plan to reopen no later than August 17 and continue to remain open for a period of one year from the date of receiving the grant award. Funding is intended to help child care providers pay employees, purchase classroom materials and cleaning supplies, and provide meals and tuition relief for families. As of early August, the grant program provided financial assistance to 501 child care providers, totaling $7,016,700.

Alabama continues to provide child care financial assistance for health care providers with children under the age of 13. This assistance is not based on income and is funded through supplemental CCDBG funds. The state’s absentee policy, where providers received payment for children who had been absent for more than five days, was reinstated on August 10. However, on August 1, the state reverted to its normal “closure day” policy where providers only receive payment for five days of closure during an emergency.

Alabama has not yet announced plans to provide additional support through the fall to meet demand for school-age child care.

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Alaska

Alaska fully distributed the $6.4 million in supplemental CCDBG funds it received through the CARES Act by the end of April.

Alaska fully distributed the $6.4 million in supplemental CCDBG funds it received through the CARES Act by the end of April. These funds were disbursed to child care providers to cover their March 2020 expenses. As a result, on June 18, the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services Child Care Program Office (CCPO) received an additional $10.5 million of the state’s Coronavirus Relief Fund federal dollars to backpay Alaska’s child care providers for revenue lost from declining attendance during April and May for the care of children who were not eligible for child care assistance. Though half of the State’s licensed child care facilities closed temporarily due to the pandemic and anticipated needing additional funding to reopen during later summer months, further funding has yet to be approved.

Reimbursements from CCPO for April and May were calculated according to the age of each child in care during that month. For example, for April, providers received $100 for each infant in care, $75 for each toddler in care, $50 for each preschooler in care, and $25 for each school aged child in care during the month of April.

The state has yet to announce any plans to provide further funding to meet the heightened demand for school-age child care this fall. However, the Anchorage school district has released a staggered in-person school reopening plan, in which youngest children go back first, for the fall.

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Arizona

Arizona received $88 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act.

Arizona received $88 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. Initially, the state prioritized using these funds to fully cover the costs of child care for frontline workers at newly established Arizona Enrichment Centers. On May 14, program eligibility was expanded to include child care for the children of grocery store employees and food bank workers. This program ran through August 31.

To offer continued support to child care providers through the fall, in August, Gov. Doug Ducey (R) and the Department of Economic Security (DES) Child Care Administration announced the launch of the Child Care COVID-19 Grant Program to help child care providers cover the costs of safely remaining open or reopening. This program awards $47 million of the state’s supplemental CCDBG funds to child care providers. Grants are noncompetitive and provide a base award of $300 for each enrolled child who attended at least one day of care in January 2020. Facilities in rural counties will receive an additional incentive of $1,000. If a child care provider is currently closed they must agree to open and provide child care services no later than September 30, 2020, to receive funding. In addition, providers who elect to become DES contracted will receive an additional $50 per child served. Each grant recipient is expected to submit a monthly report to DES about capacity and enrollment. Grant award payments are distributed in 3 installments: 50% on September 15, 25% on Ocober 15, and the remaining 25% on November 16.

Arizona has yet to announce plans to provide funds for expanded school-age care access as schools shift online.

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Arkansas

Arkansas received $41 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state obligated these funds in the spring to support essential workers and child care providers.

Arkansas received $41 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state obligated these funds in the spring to support essential workers and child care providers. Acknowledging that new safety requirements placed new burdens on child care providers, Arkansas disbursed $12 million over the summer in one-time supplemental maintenance payments to providers who had been open since March. These payments were intended to offset the costs of deep cleaning and sanitation, and to help providers meet new pandemic procedures for safe operations. Additionally, the state used approximately $18 million of the supplemental funds to help cover the cost of child care for some essential workers in Arkansas, regardless of their income.

In order to support licensed providers so that they could remain open, the state announced in May that it would use an estimated $11 million to supplement voucher payments based on attendance through the end of the public health emergency, as declared by the governor. Specifically, for each child receiving a federal subsidy through the state, providers receive an additional $10 per infant/toddler, $7 per preschool aged child, and $5 school-age child. On August 14, Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) extended the state of emergency for another 60 days, through October 14.

Arkansas has yet to announce how much of their supplemental CCDBG funds they have already used or any plans to provide additional funds to support child care and school-age care providers through the fall. In early August, the Arkansas Department of Education announced a requirement for schools to stay open five days a week.

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California

California received $350 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. It encouraged all programs that could safely remain open to do so to serve the children of essential workers over the summer, but the state did not deem child care to be an essential service.

California received $350 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. It encouraged all programs that could safely remain open to do so to serve the children of essential workers over the summer, but the state did not deem child care to be an essential service.

To provide child care for essential workers, California established an emergency child care program through the state’s existing subsidy system. Households were eligible if all available caregivers were deemed essential, if the family required child care to work, if the family could not work remotely, and if the family had assets of less than $1 million. All other eligibility requirements were waived. The state allocated $50 million in supplemental CCDBG dollars towards this program which was available through July 1. To offer further support for providers throughout the summer, California issued an additional $50 million to cover the costs of cleaning and supplies for providers as they remained open or reopened. With CCDBG flexibility, California recalibrated its Quality Counts program to meet the needs of providers during COVID-19 by shifting professional development online and providing stipends to participants who remained open.

California further supported families and child care providers by paying child care providers full subsidies for all enrolled children, including any copayment or fees usually paid by parents. California continues to provide such funding through the fall to providers who currently hold contracts to care for children with subsidies. Contracted providers can apply now through November for continued funding. Guidance on reimbursements for programs operating remotely or through a hybrid model will be published shortly.

As much of California is still under lock down, and child care has not been deemed essential except for in cases where providers serve essential workers (for which $100 million of the CCDBG dollars are being used), there have not been any new announcements as to how California plans to financially support the child care industry and provide access to school-age care this fall.

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Colorado

Colorado received $42.5 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. With these funds, Colorado established an Emergency Child Care Collaborative to ensure that essential workers had access to child care.

Colorado received $42.5 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. With these funds, Colorado established an Emergency Child Care Collaborative to ensure that essential workers had access to child care. Through the emergency program, the state covered 100% of child care tuition for essential workers through May 17.

The state continues to provide assistance to families through the Colorado Child Care Assistance Program. At the start of the pandemic, Gov. Jared Polis (D) issued an executive order requiring the Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS) to use supplemental CCDBG funds to reimburse counties that paid subsidies to providers for absences or closures due to COVID-19. Reimbursements for providers for the event of additional absences were determined by the county’s Human Services Departments, though the CDHS and the Office of Early Childhood encouraged counties to maintain expanded absence payments through June to all providers who were open or had temporarily closed. CDHS recommended that as of July 1, subsidies be paid only to providers that had reopened to provide child care services to families who receive subsidies unless the county identified that a child care provider had extenuating circumstances that hindered their ability to reopen in July.

To continue to bolster the child care industry through the fall, in August 2020, the state opened applications for “sustainability grants” ranging from $1,000 to $3,000 for open and operating child care centers, preschools, family child care homes, and school-age child care centers. These grant awards, paid for by the supplemental CCDBG funds, are based on licensed capacity, not enrollment. These grant payments are expected to be distributed by the end of October and are intended to help child care providers pay salaries, purchase additional cleaning and safety supplies, accommodate smaller group sizes, and develop activities/ programs to serve the children of essential and emergency workers.

Due to recent federal guidance, counties may now pay for the care of school-age children who receive subsidies (grades 1-12) while they are completing remote schoolwork. Child care providers may supplement or build on academic programming as long as it does not supplant remote school instruction. Recognizing that child care providers will fulfill this crucial, additional role this fall, Colorado is offering extra assistance to providers through its Preschool Development Grant. Such assistance includes promoting business planning and sustainability for child care programs and providing centers with micro-grants to assist with licensing or expansion expenses.

Later this fall, the Energize Colorado Gap Fund, a nonprofit developed by the Colorado Nonprofit Development Center, will provide more than $25 million in small business loans and grants to boost small business enterprises that are the economic engines throughout the state. The Office of Early Childhood encourages child care providers to apply for this opportunity.

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Connecticut

Connecticut received $23.5 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. In April, Connecticut used $5.8 million of these funds to provide additional resources to licensed child care providers that stayed open to serve children of essential workers through two programs that were discontinued in June and July.

Connecticut received $23.5 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. In April, Connecticut used $5.8 million of these funds to provide additional resources to licensed child care providers that stayed open to serve children of essential workers through two programs that were discontinued in June and July. In May, Connecticut’s Office of Early Childhood (OEC) surveyed licensed family child care homes, centers, group homes, and license exempt state funded programs to understand the impact of COVID-19 on child care providers in Connecticut in order to create a new plan for recovery efforts.

Using these results, the OEC designed the next phase of funding to support child care centers and family child care providers during the continuation of the COVID-19 pandemic into the fall. The first part of the funding makes a variety of different subsidies available to child care centers. The Expense Kickstart subsidy, for which $8 million is budgeted, is a one-time, lump-sum grant that helps businesses cover large expenses such as rent, payroll, and utilities. The Supply Subsidy, for which $2.5 million is allocated, helps cover the cost of cleaning and safety supplies. Funding also exists to help businesses pay for background checks and for First-Aid trainings. Additionally, the state offers funding to connect family child care providers to a larger Family Child Care Network to offer professional development, coaching and consultation, and business and administrative support. It also provides funding to support providers’ operational expenses. Subsidies are allocated based on a provider’s licensed capacity. Programs had to be operating in January 2020 to be eligible, though applications for these programs closed on September 19.

The state has yet to announce any plans to offer funds to support providers as they work to meet the heightened demand for school-age care this fall.

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Delaware

Delaware received $9.7 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act.

Delaware received $9.7 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. Initially, Delaware instituted a phased economic reopening plan that permitted only licensed providers designated as Emergency Child Care Sites to remain open to serve the children of essential workers. “Enhanced Reimbursements” were used to cover health and sanitation costs as well as to pay staff in these programs. On June 15, the state entered Phase 2 of its reopening plan and all licensed child care providers were permitted to reopen in accordance with State public health guidelines. In Phase 2, providers that remained closed became eligible for tiered reimbursement if they continued to pay staff; on July 1, providers that remained closed no longer received enhanced reimbursements.

Delaware plans to use federal Coronavirus Relief Fund dollars and supplemental CCDBG funds to continue enhanced subsidy payments based on enrollment, rather than attendance, through the end of the calendar year. The state will evaluate these programs monthly to assess whether they can continue to run in accordance with federal guidance and any new local restrictions.

Recognizing the urgent need to support school-age children who are engaging in remote learning, the state is working with district and charter schools, licensed child care providers, summer camps, and other organizations to provide child care options for children under 12 who are unable to stay home during the school day.

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Florida

Florida received $223.6 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. Early in the pandemic, the state budgeted $41 million of these funds to support child care providers who remained open and cared for the children of first responders and health care personnel by offering an additional reimbursement of $500 per child.

Florida received $223.6 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. Early in the pandemic, the state budgeted $41 million of these funds to support child care providers who remained open and cared for the children of first responders and health care personnel by offering an additional reimbursement of $500 per child. This program ended on July 31.

On May 28, the Florida Department of Education allocated $60.9 million from its funds and from existing CCDBG dollars to help pay subsidies based on enrollment and help providers continue to pay School Readiness and Voluntary Prekindergarten employees. They also covered parent copayments and offered providers mini-grants to cover infrastructure and cleaning costs.

On June 30, the Office of Early Learning announced a two-phase plan for spending $72 million of the supplemental CCDBG funds through two phases of grants based on provider capacity. In Phase 1, the state distributed $49 million via Emergency Child Care Relief Grants to providers who remained open on April 30. Contracted School Readiness providers received an additional bonus for serving infants and toddlers or children with special needs. In Phase 2, the state distributed $19 million via High-Quality Reopening Support Grants to providers who were closed on April 30 and had reopened or planned to reopen by August 1. Providers had to be rated “high quality” to be eligible.

Recognizing that continuous support from the state to assist providers would be necessary through the fall, on September 2, the Office of Early Learning announced a third phase of grants. Similar to Phase 2 grants, the state will offer funds to providers who were closed on April 30 but opened or planned to reopen by August 31. With the exception of public and charter school providers, funding continues to be provided based on total capacity rather than enrollment. This third phase will cost an additional $16,886,271 from the CARES Act CCDBG supplemental funding the state received.

Additionally, the state has redirected $2.4 million from its Preschool Development Grant Funds to support low income and limited English proficient children this fall by giving curriculum guidance to child care providers and digital tools to families.

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Georgia

Georgia received $144.5 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. This money was primarily used to offer emergency child care scholarships for the children of essential workers.

Georgia received $144.5 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. This money was primarily used to offer emergency child care scholarships for the children of essential workers. Funds became available for first responders, law enforcement, public safety, and medical personnel on April 1 and for food and grocery personnel on May 1.

In May, Georgia launched the Short-Term Assistance Benefit for Licensed Entities (STABLE) program to assist providers in covering their ongoing operating costs. STABLE payments can be used to pay for salaries and benefits for child care employees, tuition relief for families, lease or mortgage payments, utilities, cleaning supplies, and other operating expenses. Funding is distributed according to a providers’ attendance numbers prior to COVID-19 and current operating status. Though the state has said that this program represents only the first phase of its distribution of CARES funds, it has not yet announced any plans for subsequent phases.

The state has yet to announce plans to provide support for child care and school-age care providers through the fall.

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Hawaii

Hawaii received $12 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. In response to the pandemic, families of essential workers qualified for child care subsidies regardless of their income.

Hawaii received $12 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. In response to the pandemic, families of essential workers qualified for child care subsidies regardless of their income. Existing child care subsidies could be used to hold a space at a licensed and registered provider until care operations resumed. Families facing financial hardship due to COVID-19 could also request waivers for co-payments. At the end of May, Hawaii’s Department of Human Services offered contracts to licensed child care providers and A+ rated child care sites at schools to cover the costs of health and safety measures necessary to resume operation. The deadline to apply was July 31.

Recognizing that the State’s CCDBG funds would not be sufficient to meet the needs of home-based care providers, the Hawai’i Community Foundation established a small grant program to provide relief to licensed home-based child care providers across Hawaii, support providers serving essential workers, and prevent permanent child care closures. This summer, funds were awarded in the amount of $1,000 to $3,000 per applicant. This program was funded by the Home Grown program of the Health Federation of Philadelphia and the Hawaii Resiliency Fund of Hawaii Community Foundation. Due to the high volume of applications that the Hawai’i Community Foundation received, they are no longer accepting new applications.

Hawaii temporarily increased its subsidy payment rates, including those for school age children, from August through December to offer additional support to providers through the fall.

The state has yet to announce plans to provide additional funds to expand access to school-age care through the fall.

More information here

Idaho

Idaho received $20 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. In May, Idaho began to offer one-time, noncompetitive Child Care Emergency Grants to help providers that remained open cover operating costs such as rent, staff salaries, and cleaning supplies through the summer.

Idaho received $20 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. In May, Idaho began to offer one-time, noncompetitive Child Care Emergency Grants to help providers that remained open cover operating costs such as rent, staff salaries, and cleaning supplies through the summer. Grants ranged from up to $2,000 for home-based providers to $15,000 for center-based providers based on licensed capacity.

On July 28, the state launched a second round of grants to help providers remain open during periods of low enrollment and to cover the heightened costs of providing care through the fall. This noncompetitive grant opportunity was available to providers who were open or planned to open by September 15. Monthly awards began in August (or when the provider reopens) and continue each month until available funds are exhausted. Monthly awards range from $500 to $5,000 based on facility size beginning. All eligible applicants will receive at least two monthly award payments. Providers who previously received a grant award from the Idaho Child Care Emergency Grant are eligible for this Phase 2 grant and funds may be used to cover expenses including rent, utilities, supplies and payroll, as well as support for additional health and safety measures taken to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Idaho covered subsidy payments based on enrollment during the beginning of the pandemic but has not recently published information as to whether that policy remains in place.

Child care centers are also encouraged to apply for the Idaho Rebound Cash Grants for Small Businesses, which is a grant supported by the state’s federal Coronavirus Relief Fund dollars to reimburse the costs of business interruption caused by required closure. However, the state has yet to announce any plans to provide funds directly addressing the need for safe, affordable school-age care on remote learning days this fall.

More information here

Illinois

Illinois received $118.4 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act.

Illinois received $118.4 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state used these funds to provide increased subsidy payment rates to child care providers serving frontline and essential workers (50%), subsidy payments for open and closed providers based on enrollment (35%), and payments to defray the costs of health and safety supplies.

The state recognized that the existing child care business model would not be sustainable under the public health requirements to operate at 70% capacity during the rest of the summer and into the fall. In order to support providers faced reduced operating capacity, on June 11, Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) dedicated $270 million of the state’s Coronavirus Urgent Remediation Emergency (CURE) Fund to establish a Child Care Restoration Grant program. Licensed providers were eligible to apply between July 24 through August 31, as long as they remained open at the time of the application. Awards could be used to cover any cost associated with operating during COVID-19. The state plans to offer a second round of grants at the end of September, although official dates have not yet been set.

Through July, Illinois paid subsidies to providers based on enrollment, rather than attendance. The state has since reverted to attendance-based payments. However, to support providers through periods of low attendance this fall, the Department of Human Services will pay full subsidies for children with at least 50% attendance, rather than the 80% threshold in place prior to the pandemic. Additionally, to create flexibilities for providers that close due to COVID-19 outbreaks, the state offers waivers enabling providers to receive full payments during periodic closures.

Recognizing that providers will need additional support to meet the need for school-age care this fall, on August 7, Illinois announced that, through October, providers were eligible to receive subsidy payments for care provided to school-age children during remote learning hours.

More information here

Indiana

In March, Indiana received $78.8 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state used these funds to provide Temporary Assistance Grants to Retain Child Care that helped providers replace the revenue they did not receive from private-pay children during summer.

In March, Indiana received $78.8 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state used these funds to provide Temporary Assistance Grants to Retain Child Care that helped providers replace the revenue they did not receive from private-pay children during summer. Over the first month of Temporary Assistance Grants, over 2,000 programs received a total of nearly $20 million in relief. This program ended in July.

In its place, the Child Care Closure Assistance Grant, offered through October, helps providers if they have temporarily closed due to a confirmed COVID-19 case which requires closure of a classroom or the facility. Grants will be awarded to programs for the purpose of continuing to regularly pay child care staff and maintain operations for the time period of the required COVID-19 closure. Grant awards will be capped at $20,000.

To support providers as they work to meet the increased demand for school-age care this fall, Indiana produced guidance encouraging schools to work with community-based programs to provide care during school hours. For families who have chosen to create formal learning collaboratives in their homes, Executive Order 20-40 has temporarily suspended child care home licensure requirements to allow for up to 10 unrelated children in a residential setting on school days when engaging in digital learning. Further, contingent upon certain conditions, such as lack of compensated instructor on site, being met, employers who allow employees to bring their children to work on remote learning days are exempt from child care licensing. Indiana has yet to announce any plans to provide funds to expand school-age care access as schools offer virtual instruction.

More information here

Iowa

In March, Iowa received $32 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state used these funds to provide monthly stipends of $2,000 in May, June, and July to all licensed centers that remained open, and $500 to all registered homes that remained open.

In March, Iowa received $32 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state used these funds to provide monthly stipends of $2,000 in May, June, and July to all licensed centers that remained open, and $500 to all registered homes that remained open. To encourage providers to serve essential services personnel, the state doubled this stipend if providers offered a 25% tuition discount to such workers, for a potential total of $4,000 to centers and $1,000 to homes. The state distributed approximately $20 million through this program. For programs that closed, the state also offered one-time Rejuvenation Grants from April through June to help providers reopen.

Additionally, the Department of Human Services lifted the restrictions on the number of absent days paid per month to child care providers who remained open. The state also waived family copayments and reimbursed providers for the copay amounts. This change was backdated to April 6, 2020 and will continue through the length of the Governor’s Emergency Declaration, which has been extended through October 18 with the possibility of further extensions.

Iowa has yet to announce plans to provide additional funds for child care and school-age care providers into the fall. However, Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) strongly encouraged schools to reopen and offer in-person instruction. Most schools have opened though some urban school districts, such as Iowa City, have been granted waivers to teach fully remotely due to high case positivity rates.

More information here

Kansas

In March, Kansas received $30.7 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state used these funds to create the Hero Relief Program, which offered child care subsidies for essential workers and provided financial support directly to child care providers.

In March, Kansas received $30.7 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state used these funds to create the Hero Relief Program, which offered child care subsidies for essential workers and provided financial support directly to child care providers. The program also provided grants to help defray operations costs for providers during the pandemic. Additionally, in April, one-time Emergency Worker Support Bonuses were made available for providers who remained open to care for the children of essential workers. The deadline to apply for the Hero Relief programs was extended to September 15, that it might meet the needs of essential workers and child care providers alike through the fall.

On July 26, Gov. Laura Kelly (D) announced the expansion of the Hero Relief program to include a revenue replacement grant for all licensed providers to assist providers who lost income from child care subsidies during the pandemic. To support school-age care providers as the fall approached, the state permitted school-age programs to participate. Child care providers are encouraged to apply for this grant while funding is still available if they have experienced a measured decrease in subsidy payments.

This fall, Kansas has announced a new program, funded by its federal Coronavirus Relief Fund dollars, which connects licensed child care providers to health consultants for advice on how to meet CDC health and safety recommendations to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Kansas has recently allocated $1.7 million of its federal Preschool Development Grant dollars to the creation of five subgrants to locally develop and test solutions to the needs and gaps in Kansas’ early childhood care system. Effective solutions will be scaled up in the future. The goals of the program include increasing access to child care, particularly in rural communities, and improving quality of care. Applications close in mid-October.

Kansas is also using its federal Coronavirus Relief Fund dollars for remote learning support grants to address the current need for alternative care for families adversely impacted by remote learning situations and to ensure that school age children are in safe and secure settings while engaging in remote learning. The grants provide support for child care providers to cover their new operational costs and payroll demands and to expand their services to accommodate school age children. All licensed early childhood and youth program providers are eligible to apply. Applications open on September 30 and will be accepted on a rolling basis.

More information here

Kentucky

In March, the state received $67.7 million in supplemental funds through the CARES Act. The state used these funds to offer subsidy payments to providers based on enrollment, rather than attendance regardless of whether the program was open or temporarily closed.

In March, the state received $67.7 million in supplemental funds through the CARES Act. The state used these funds to offer subsidy payments to providers based on enrollment, rather than attendance regardless of whether the program was open or temporarily closed. Additionally, the state covered the cost of parent copays to avoid placing additional financial strain on parents during this time. According to Child Care Aware of Kentucky, the state had distributed all supplemental CCDBG funds by September 1.

As a result, the Kentucky Child Care Assistance Program is slowly phasing out paying for co-pays and offering flexibility on subsidy payments. Effective July 15, the state suspended paying parent co-pays for licensed, certified, and registered child care providers. On October 1, the state will revert to attendance-based subsidy payments for licensed, certified, and registered providers.

Recognizing that access to child care is a prerequisite for reopening the economy, on September 3, Kentucky began offering startup bonuses of $2,500 to new home-based child care providers to help them become fully licensed.

Kentucky has yet to announce any plans to provide funds to expand school-age access as schools shift online.

More information here

Louisiana

In March, Louisiana received $67.6 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. Louisiana distributed these funds via two separate programs designed to support families and providers.

In March, Louisiana received $67.6 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. Louisiana distributed these funds via two separate programs designed to support families and providers. First, the Emergency Child Care Development Fund Response helped defray operating costs for providers that remained open but were required to reduce their capacity to comply with health and safety guidelines. Second, the Emergency Child Care Relief Grant enabled open providers to continue paying staff salaries and to cover other costs associated with remaining viable through the pandemic.

To provide continued relief throughout the summer, Louisiana offered a second round of grants beginning June 12 to providers that were operational by June 1. On July 16, the state announced that it would dedicate $11 million to offer a third round of grants to providers that were operational as of August 1. To incentivize providers to provide care for children receiving subsidies, providers received an additional $25 per subsidy-authorized child enrolled by August 1. The state indicated that it would provide a separate grant opportunity at a later date for centers that had closed and were not open as of August 1 due to COVID-19 exposure.

Louisiana has yet to announce any plans to support school-age care as schools shift online.

More information here

Maine

Maine received $11 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state used its CARES funds to provide child care subsidies for essential employees who exceeded the income-eligibility threshold, available through June 30.

Maine received $11 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state used its CARES funds to provide child care subsidies for essential employees who exceeded the income-eligibility threshold, available through June 30. In June, the state also provided a one-time stipend to all licensed child care providers and all license-exempt nonrelative providers participating in the subsidy program. Closed providers received $75 per licensed slot, while open providers received $175 per licensed slot. The bulk of the state’s CARES Act funding was disbursed through these two programs.

On July 17, Gov. Janet Mills (D) announced that the state would invest $8.4 million of its Coronavirus Relief Fund dollars to offer continued support for providers through the summer and into the fall. These funds were used to provide center-based providers with up to $9,200 and family-based providers with up to $950 to cover COVID-related expenses. The Maine Department of Health and Human services used the remaining $2.8 million to provide grants to providers who were operational by September 8. Child care centers received an additional $2,800 in aid and family-based providers received an additional $550 in August.

Maine determined these amounts based on estimates calculated by the Bipartisan Policy Center in a letter to Congress. The letter noted that child care centers would need $12,000 and home-based providers would need $1,500 to reopen and follow health and safety measures. On July 17, in a press release from Maine’s Center for Disease Control, the state mentioned that Linda Smith, the Director of BPC’s Early Childhood Initiative, praised Maine’s efforts: “The Bipartisan Policy Center applauds these re-opening funds to child care providers which will help ensure parents have access to reliable, safe, and quality child care during these challenging times. The risk of permanent closure is too great. This support demonstrates Maine’s commitment to help both family child care and center-based programs survive while supporting families returning to the workforce.”

More information here

Maryland

Maryland received $45 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state used these funds to cover child care costs for essential workers through July 24, when the funding was no longer available.

Maryland received $45 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state used these funds to cover child care costs for essential workers through July 24, when the funding was no longer available. Additionally, providers were paid subsidies based on enrollment, rather than attendance during the summer. However, as of July 20, due to the lack of additional funds, the state reverted to attendance-based payments and no longer covers parent copays.

Recognizing the need to expand the supply of child care providers this fall, Maryland announced on September 1, that it would dedicate funds from the state’s Preschool Development Grant Birth through Five to offer Family Child Care Start-up Grants of $800 to home-based providers and $1,600 to center-based providers. These one-time grants are intended to assist new providers with the costs of opening child care programs.

Maryland schools are beginning this year virtually, while as of August 27, 78% of Maryland child care centers had reopened. Maryland parents have been vocal about the need for more spots for school-age children in child care programs. In an online address to the public on August 27, state Superintendent Karen Salmon commented that the state “has received countless requests to raise the capacity restrictions on child care programs and expand the number of children that are eligible to attend for the beginning of this school year.”

“However, it would be illogical to deny children the opportunity to return to the classroom only to increase the number of children congregating in another location, essentially serving as a de facto replacement for a school environment,” Salmon said. “As school systems reconsider their decisions to return to in-person instruction, we will also continue to reassess whether we can increase the capacity in child care classrooms.”

More information here

Massachusetts

Massachusetts received $45.7 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state temporarily closed all nonemergency child care programs through June 29 except those providing care for vulnerable children and the children of essential workers.

Massachusetts received $45.7 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state temporarily closed all nonemergency child care programs through June 29 except those providing care for vulnerable children and the children of essential workers. Providers who remained open as Exempt Emergency Child Care Providers were able to receive grants to help defray the cost of operations. Centers received $2,500 each week per classroom—for up to 2 classrooms—and home-based providers received $1,000 each week for up to 8 children. All other child care programs were authorized to reopen on June 26, and the designations of Emergency Child Care Provider were rescinded.

In anticipation of beginning reopening in early July, Massachusetts announced that it would offer reopening grants to providers who participate in the state subsidy program, in order to support child care programs through periods of low attendance and capacity restrictions. Providers who remained open as Exempt Emergency Child Care Providers were also eligible for these grants. The state indicated that grants would be offered on a per-provider basis for family child care providers and a per-classroom basis for centers and school-age care programs. However, since the announcement in July, details of these opening grants and how to apply for them have not been announced.

To provide stable income to child care providers through the closure and reopening, the state continues to reimburse providers for all child care subsidies based on enrollment, regardless of operating status. To ease financial burdens on families, the Department of Early Education and Care is covering the cost of parent fees for subsidized families enrolled in care for the duration of the state of emergency, under which the state continues to operate.

Recognizing that many families will need access to safe, affordable school-age care options for their children on remote learning days this fall, the state produced guidance indicating that licensed child care providers may now serve school-age children during online school hours. In an order on August 28, Gov. Charlie Baker (R) authorized the creation of “remote learning enrichment programs” under the direction of the Department of Early Education and Care. Providers may also apply for new licenses through an expedited licensing process to expand their capacity to serve school-age children. Families may set up informal arrangements under the shared supervision of parents or guardians to support children during remote learning activities without any license if they comply with certain criteria, such as restrictions on group size, type of supervision, and compensation.

More information here

Michigan

Michigan received $100 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act and added $30 million of existing CCDBG funds at the end of April to create a Child Care Relief Fund.

Michigan received $100 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act and added $30 million of existing CCDBG funds at the end of April to create a Child Care Relief Fund. The state used these funds to cover copayments through the summer and offer grants to providers who were open and serving children of essential workers. Providers were required to reduce weekly rates for families by 10% to receive these funds. Grant funds were eligible to be used to cover costs such as mortgages, utilities, insurance, and/or payroll.

The $100 million in supplemental CCDBG funds were distributed via three rounds of grants in April, May, and June. Grant amounts were calculated as 30% of providers’ monthly tuition bills. After receiving the state funds, providers were to give families a credit on their next tuition statement. The state used what remained of the $100 million to provide two additional rounds of incentive payments for providers that remained open—$1,000 for centers and $500 for home-based providers—in July and August. To reduce the cost of child care for families through the summer, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) authorized an additional $125 million for child care subsidy payments on July 1. These funds were distributed as tuition credit reimbursements.

More information here

Minnesota

Minnesota received $48.1 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state used $30 million of these funds to support a Peacetime Emergency Childcare Grant program for licensed providers who offered child care to the children of emergency responders.

Minnesota received $48.1 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state used $30 million of these funds to support a Peacetime Emergency Childcare Grant program for licensed providers who offered child care to the children of emergency responders.

To provide additional support for providers through the summer and into the fall, Gov. Tim Walz (D) announced on July 29 that the state would direct $56 million of the state’s federal Coronavirus Relief Fund dollars to issue additional grants. Grants were available for child care providers that planned to remain open through September. Licensed home-based providers were eligible to receive up to $1,200 per month for July, August, and September, while centers could receive up to $8,500 per month. The state permitted providers to use grant awards to cover increased costs or lost revenue resulting from COVID-19-related business closures, to provide incentives or overtime to working staff, or to comply with health and safety guidance. Nonprofit programs that provide full-time care for school-age children in the summer months were also eligible for this grant.

Beginning in March, Minnesota paid subsidies to Child Care Assistance providers for up to one month based on pre-pandemic enrollment—rather than attendance—regardless of operating status. To assist providers through periods of variable attendance during the fall, effective October 1, providers will still receive payments on days when subsidized children are absent. These absent days will not count toward the normal 25 maximum paid-absent days policy. Additionally, the state will continue to pay subsidies based on enrollment for up to 30 days during child care program closures.

Recognizing the need for school-age care this fall, Minnesota encourages school districts and charter schools to provide school-age care during remote learning days for the children of essential workers. On September 2, Minnesota published guidance for families and providers about receiving subsidies for child care during the remote school day.

More information here

Mississippi

Mississippi received $47 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state used these funds to cover child care costs for essential workers and to pay subsidies and copayments providers based on enrollment, rather than attendance, regardless of operating status, through July.

Mississippi received $47 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state used these funds to cover child care costs for essential workers and to pay subsidies and copayments providers based on enrollment, rather than attendance, regardless of operating status, through July. Effective August 1, the state only offers enrollment-based payments to providers that were open. However, providers who have been temporarily closed due to COVID-related conditions by the Mississippi Department of Health will continue to receive payments during the closure. Through September 30, providers receiving subsidy payments will receive enhanced rates.

To help sustain the state’s child care system into the fall, Mississippi launched a grant program in August. This program offers one-time payments based on provider type and capacity through November. This grant program and continued subsidy payments will be funded by the state’s additional child care investment of $47 million in August.

The state has yet to announce plans to offer further support for school-age care providers through the fall.

More information here

Missouri

In March, Missouri received $66.5 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act.

In March, Missouri received $66.5 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state used these funds to pay subsidies to providers based on enrollment, rather than attendance, through June. Effective July 1, the state reverted to attendance-based payments. Child care providers that remained open to provide care for the children of essential personnel during the summer were offered one-time grants ranging from $1,000 to $7,500 through June. The state provided further support by offering providers who operated during nontraditional hours $100 monthly stipends per child from April through June.

In order to help families afford child care through the fall, Missouri offers temporary child care subsidies for 90 days to help low-income, unemployed parents find work. Additionally, the state expanded the income-eligibility threshold for child care subsidies from 138% to 215% of the Federal Poverty Level. Both of these policies expire December 31.

Recognizing the need to support providers as they work to meet the heightened need for school-age care this fall, Missouri published guidance indicating that providers may receive subsidy payments for care provided to school-age children during remote learning hours through December 31.

More information here

Montana

In March, Montana received $10.1 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state primarily used these funds to offer Emergency Grants for child care programs that were open or planned to reopen, and to offer Temporary Emergency Child Care Support grants to non-licensed providers caring for the children of essential workers.

In March, Montana received $10.1 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state primarily used these funds to offer Emergency Grants for child care programs that were open or planned to reopen, and to offer Temporary Emergency Child Care Support grants to non-licensed providers caring for the children of essential workers. By June 23, 770 licensed providers received emergency grants. On August 11, Gov. Steve Bullock (D) dedicated $50 million of the state’s federal Coronavirus Relief Fund dollars to provide continued support for providers and to expand child care for school-age children through the fall.

Of these additional funds, $8 million will be issued as supplemental payments beginning September 1 to licensed and registered providers in order to maintain and expand the number of child care slots available. While the state paid subsidies to open providers based on enrollment, rather than attendance through May, as of June 1, providers only receive subsidy payments for children who attend at least 85% of the authorized time.

Acknowledging the need for school-age care options during school closures and virtual instruction this fall, $30 million of the new funds will be used to offer grants to providers that offer school-age care and serve children from low-income families. Providers may receive $1,000 per school-age child, per month, based on average daily attendance. Funding must be used by December 31.

More information here

Nebraska

In March, Nebraska received $20 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state primarily distributed these funds in June through one-time Child Care Stabilization Grants to help providers cover the cost of reduced attendance, and one-time Incentive to Reopen grants to help providers cover the costs of reopening.

In March, Nebraska received $20 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state primarily distributed these funds in June through one-time Child Care Stabilization Grants to help providers cover the cost of reduced attendance, and one-time Incentive to Reopen grants to help providers cover the costs of reopening. The state has yet to announce plans offering additional financial assistance for providers through the fall.

Providers will continue to receive subsidy payments based on licensed capacity, rather than attendance, a policy that began in August. Additionally, to help families address their school-age care needs this fall, Nebraska’s Department of Health and Human Services released guidance informing providers that they may receive subsidy payments for school-age care provided to subsidy-eligible students during virtual school hours.

More information here

Nevada

In March, Nevada received $32.9 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act.

In March, Nevada received $32.9 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state primarily used the funds to pay for enrollment-based subsidies and to offer competitive NV CARES Act Grants to cover up to three months of provider expenses. The application deadline was May 29 and providers received funds in two installments through July. The state has yet to announce plans offering additional financial assistance past July to support child care providers or to expand access to school-age care through the fall.

More information here

New Hampshire

In March, New Hampshire received $7 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state primarily used these funds to establish its Emergency Child Care Program (ECCP) that provided child care for essential workers and to cover parent copayments and subsidies, regardless of a program’s operating status.

In March, New Hampshire received $7 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state primarily used these funds to establish its Emergency Child Care Program (ECCP) that provided child care for essential workers and to cover parent copayments and subsidies, regardless of a program’s operating status. Additionally, a portion of the supplemental CCDBG funds were used to offer staff incentive payments at $5 per hour, per employee, to help providers retain their employees.

In May, Gov. Chris Sununu (R) authorized $25 million of the state’s Coronavirus Relief Fund federal dollars for additional child care support, recognizing that the supplemental CCDBG funds from the CARES Act were not sufficient to sustain the state’s vulnerable child care industry through the summer. The state distributed $16.6 million of these additional funds to providers in June through Child Care Recovery and Stabilization Program grants. New Hampshire’s DHHS received 419 applications—only 5 providers did not apply—and granted awards to all but one of these applications. The state distributed a second round of funding in September to providers who received round one grants at a total cost of $3 million.

Effective August 3, New Hampshire updated its subsidy payment policy which now allows providers to receive full payments each month for children who attend care at least 85% of the time. Providers will also be paid for 10 days of COVID-19-related absences each month. However, as of September, the state no longer covers 50% of parent copayments.

New Hampshire notes that $2.9 million of the additional Coronavirus Relief Fund dollars were also spent to cover staff incentive payments and that, as of September 17, $2.5 million of that $25 million remains. In order to support providers as they work to meet the increased demand for school-age care this fall, New Hampshire will pay full-time subsidy rates to providers who care for school-age children during remote learning hours from September 7 through November 30. In November, the state will determine whether funds are available to continue this practice.

More information here

New Jersey

In March, New Jersey received $63 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state primarily used these funds to cover child care costs for essential workers throughout the summer, provide enhanced subsidies, and offer grants to help providers cover health and safety costs as they reopened in June.

In March, New Jersey received $63 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state primarily used these funds to cover child care costs for essential workers throughout the summer, provide enhanced subsidies, and offer grants to help providers cover health and safety costs as they reopened in June. To continue supporting child care providers and to help families cover school-age care costs through the fall and winter, on August 28, Gov. Phil Murphy (D) dedicated $250 million of the state’s Coronavirus Relief Fund federal dollars to new child care assistance programs.

New Jersey paid child care subsidies based on enrollment, rather than attendance, during March, April, and May, and paid an additional $100 per child to providers who remained open. The state does not indicate whether it will continue paying based on enrollment through the fall. However, the new Coronavirus Relief Fund dollars will be used to pay providers an increased payment rate of $75 per subsidy-eligible child, per month, through December 31. Additionally, to help providers who are open, or who plan to reopen by October 1, cover added health and safety costs, the state offers grants ranging from $2,500 to $17,000 based on provider type and licensed capacity.

Recognizing that families increasingly need access to affordable school-age care as schools shift online, the state will offer child care subsidies to help families with incomes up to 200% of the Federal Poverty Level cover the cost of school-age care during the virtual school day. For families not eligible for state child care subsidies, but who make less than $75,000 annually, New Jersey will set aside $150 million of the Coronavirus Relief Fund dollars to defray the cost of school-age care. Both school-age care programs require that funds be used only at licensed child care centers or homes and will be available through the end of the calendar year.

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New Mexico

In March, New Mexico received $29.4 million in CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state primarily used these funds to offer Recovery and Stabilization grants to providers through May and to offer incentive pay payments to child care workers through June.

In March, New Mexico received $29.4 million in CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state primarily used these funds to offer Recovery and Stabilization grants to providers through May and to offer incentive pay payments to child care workers through June. The state has yet to announce plans offering additional financial assistance to support child care providers or to expand access to school-age care through the fall. However, New Mexico child care providers are warning state lawmakers that they need assistance to remain viable through the fall.

Through June, New Mexico paid subsidies based on pre-pandemic enrollment, rather than monthly enrollment as the state typically does. However, as of August, the state has reverted to payments based on monthly enrollment and providers lose funding when a child does not attend care for five consecutive days.

The state has not dedicated funding to help providers and families address the need for school-age care this fall. However, a Family, Friend, and Neighbor care program remained open in August to offer payments to family, friends, or neighbors caring for fewer than four nonresident children. The state also published guidance in August indicating that child care for school-age children operated by public or private schools is licensed-exempt.

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New York

In March, New York received $163 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act.

In March, New York received $163 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state released these funds in three stages “in order to be responsive to providers throughout the evolution of the pandemic in New York,” said Janice Molnar, Deputy Commissioner of New York’s Division of Child Care Services, in communication with BPC in late September. The first stage of funding early in the summer was primarily used to cover copayments for families affected by COVID-19, expand subsidy eligibility to families with up to 85% of the state median income, assist providers with PPE costs, and provide child care scholarships for the children of essential workers. On June 23, Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) announced the release of the second stage of funds: $65 million for the NY Forward Child Care Expansion Incentive program. This program distributed $20 million to cover the costs of materials like partitions and short-term rental space that providers needed to reopen and expand capacity, and $45 million in grants to pay for 50% of the costs to open new classrooms. On September 10, Cuomo announced the release of $88.6 million, the final stage of supplemental CCDBG funding, to support the state’s child care system through December 31.

Of these funds, $20 million will support child care subsidies for the children of essential workers. Families of essential workers whose income is less than 300% of the Federal Poverty Level ($78,600 for a family of four) will receive fully subsidized child care. Another $20 million will be distributed as grants to help providers cover the costs of altering their facilities to meet health and safety requirements.

Recognizing the increased need for school-age care options while children learn online this fall, New York plans to offer an additional $20 million of these funds to school-age care providers who have been displaced and need assistance paying for rent through December. The final $28.6 million in new aid is intended to help providers expand their programs by fronting half the cost (up to $6,000) of opening a new child care classroom. Applications for these four grants will be accepted on a rolling basis through December.

More information here

North Carolina

In March, North Carolina received $118 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state primarily used these funds to provide operational grants to providers through June, pay enhanced subsidy rates and cover copays, and issue bonuses to child care employees during the summer.

In March, North Carolina received $118 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state primarily used these funds to provide operational grants to providers through June, pay enhanced subsidy rates and cover copays, and issue bonuses to child care employees during the summer. In early September, the North Carolina General Assembly and Gov. Roy Cooper (D) dedicated $35 million of the state’s Coronavirus Relief Fund federal dollars to continue supporting providers and families through the fall.

The additional funds will be used to offer another round of operational grants to open providers, scaled according to the provider’s quality rating, pre-COVID-19 enrollment, infant-toddler enrollment, and percent of children who receive subsidies. Child care programs may use the funds to cover staff salaries and other costs related to providing care during COVID-19.

North Carolina paid subsidies based on pre-COVID-19 enrollment for all open or closed providers during March, April, and May, and open providers continued to receive enrollment-based payments through June, July, and August. The state reverted to attendance-based payments in September and no longer covers parent copayments like it did through August.

Acknowledging that parents face the challenge of finding affordable child care for their school-age children this fall, the legislature and governor further authorized $8 million of the state’s Coronavirus Relief Fund federal dollars to help parents meet the costs of school-age care. Parents may receive a direct assistance payment allowable for use at licensed child care programs or registered community-based organizations that offer school-age care. Families with incomes below 150% of the income-eligibility threshold for free or reduced lunch will receive priority.

More information here

North Dakota

In March, North Dakota received $6 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state used these funds to offer Child Care Emergency Operating Grants to licensed providers who remained open or had to close due to health concerns.

In March, North Dakota received $6 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state used these funds to offer Child Care Emergency Operating Grants to licensed providers who remained open or had to close due to health concerns. The North Dakota Emergency Commission and state legislature extended the program multiple times throughout the summer, and through July, the program had distributed $26 million to support providers. With the grant set to expire on August 14, the state provided an additional $12 million to fund the program through December 31, bringing the total investment to $41 million—most of which the state funded with federal CARES Act dollars that were not originally dedicated to child care.

In April, May, and June, North Dakota paid subsidies regardless of attendance to providers not receiving grant payments. However, providers who received grant funding during those months were only paid $50 per child, per month, for children who did not attend more than 40 hours during the month. On September 2, the state released guidance indicating that these subsidy policies will remain in place until further notice.

North Dakota has yet to release plans to provide additional funding for school-age care this fall.

More information here

Ohio

In March, Ohio received $117 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state primarily used the funds to pay emergency child care providers who stayed open for frontline workers, and to offer monthly grants through August that helped providers cover increased health and safety expenses and payroll costs during periods of low attendance.

In March, Ohio received $117 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state primarily used the funds to pay emergency child care providers who stayed open for frontline workers, and to offer monthly grants through August that helped providers cover increased health and safety expenses and payroll costs during periods of low attendance.

Effective August 9, Ohio’s child care providers were permitted to return to normal group sizes and staff-child ratios. However, the state recognizes that many providers will need to continue taking these safety precautions through the fall and maintain reduced ratios and class sizes; therefore, the state has extended its Ratio Support Grant through September. Providers may receive a monthly grant ranging from $273 to $12,503 per month based on the number of children they served during the month and their quality star rating.

Additionally, in order to support the reopening of providers, the state extended its COVID-19 Support Payments through September. Providers reopening for the first time since March may receive a payment ranging from $250 to $3,375 based on provider type and quality star rating to be used to pay for the cleaning supplies, PPE, payroll expenses, and other costs associated with reopening.

During the months of March, April, and May, the state continued to pay subsidies to closed providers based on pre-pandemic enrollment. This practice ended on May 31, and from June through December, open providers will only be able to bill for 20 absent days per child.

Acknowledging the heightened need for school-age care options this fall, Ohio offers a new Temporary Pandemic School-Age Child Care Center license intended to facilitate the development of temporary school-age care programs. The state has also published guidance indicating that providers may receive subsidy payments based on attendance for school-age care provided during virtual school hours.

More information here

Oklahoma

In March, Oklahoma received $50 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state primarily used these funds to provide up to 60 days of child care for families with parents seeking employment—eligibility requirements waived—and to deploy the Kith.care program which paid family members $25 per day, per child if they cared for the children of frontline workers.

In March, Oklahoma received $50 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state primarily used these funds to provide up to 60 days of child care for families with parents seeking employment—eligibility requirements waived—and to deploy the Kith.care program which paid family members $25 per day, per child if they cared for the children of frontline workers. To support struggling providers through the fall, on July 30, Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) dedicated $9.6 million of the state’s Coronavirus Relief Fund federal dollars to provide additional child care relief.

The funds were automatically distributed as one-time Child Care Quality and Sustainability Payments to the state’s more than 2,200 licensed providers—no application was necessary. Funds were disbursed by September 15 and amounts ranged from $500 to $10,000 based on provider type and quality star rating.

Prior to the pandemic, providers received subsidy payments for up to seven absent days per child, per month. In March, Oklahoma increased the number of paid absent days to 10, and from April through July enhanced the subsidy rate by $5 per child. The state has yet to publish changes to these subsidy policies.

Recognizing the heightened need for school-age care this fall and the strain it will put on child care providers, the Oklahoma Department of Human Services announced on July 6 that providers will receive full-time reimbursement rates for school-age children who attend part-time on remote learning days. Additionally, the state announced other funding opportunities available to child care providers including technology grants to help students access the tools they need to learn remotely.

More information here

Oregon

In March, Oregon received $38.6 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. In order to help defray the costs of providing emergency child care, the state used $8 million of these funds to offer providers an initial round of Emergency Child Care grants in May.

In March, Oregon received $38.6 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. In order to help defray the costs of providing emergency child care, the state used $8 million of these funds to offer providers an initial round of Emergency Child Care grants in May. Oregon used another $7 million to cover parent copays, pay subsidies for up to one month of absences per child, and to continue subsidy payments to temporarily closed providers. In early June, the state legislature dedicated an additional $30 million of the state’s Coronavirus Relief Fund federal dollars to offer further emergency child care grants.

$5.3 million of these additional funds were used to offer a second round of noncompetitive Emergency Child Care grants in July. Licensed and licensed exempt providers—including Family, Friend, and Neighbor providers—who agreed to care for children through the end of September, or agreed to reopen by September 1, were eligible to receive between $700 and $14,000 based on provider type. To ensure providers have the funding they need to continue operating through the fall, the state obligated another $23 million of these additional funds to offer another payment to providers who received either a first or second round grant and agreed to remain open through December. These “supplemental” payments ranged from $800 to $16,500 according to provider type and are to be used to cover any operating expenses related to providing continued care. In an effort to support communities at high risk of losing child care supply, the state distributed enhanced grant amounts to providers located in state-determined Opportunity Zones (not related to those determined by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017).

More information here

Pennsylvania

In March, Pennsylvania received $106 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state used $51 million of these funds to offer grants to its nearly 7,000 home-based and center-based providers through June.

In March, Pennsylvania received $106 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state used $51 million of these funds to offer grants to its nearly 7,000 home-based and center-based providers through June. After the completion of a study of the state’s child care system amid COVID-19 by Penn State researchers, Pennsylvania decided to distribute the remaining funds in July.

On August 28, in order to support the vulnerable child care industry through the fall, Gov. Tom Wolf (D) announced an additional $116 million was made available for child care in the state’s enacted budget. The state will distribute these new funds in September to all licensed providers through grants ranging from $2,100 to $48,600 according to the number of children each provider serves.

From March through August, Pennsylvania paid subsidies to providers based on pre-pandemic enrollment, rather than attendance. However, effective September 1, providers will receive payments based on attendance.

Recognizing the heightened need for school-age care this fall, the Office of Child Development and Early Learning increased subsidy rates for school-age care offered during remote school hours. Effective August 31, providers will receive a blended rate—the combination of a part-time and full-time rate—instead of traditional part-time rates because providers will likely care for students for more full-time days than part-time payments are intended to cover.

More information here

Rhode Island

In March, Rhode Island received $8 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state required all child care providers to remain closed through June 1.

In March, Rhode Island received $8 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state required all child care providers to remain closed through June 1. In order to support providers through these closures, the Rhode Island Department of Human Services primarily used their funds to pay subsidies to providers based on pre-pandemic enrollment until June 1 and cover parent copays.

Child care providers were permitted to reopen in June, pending approval of the COVID-19 plan they were required to submit to the Department of Human Services. From June 1 to August 28, only providers who reopened were reimbursed for subsidies based on enrollment. Additionally, the state increased subsidy rates to the 75th percentile of the market rate through October in order to help providers meet the heightened operating costs during COVID-19.

Rhode Island has yet to announce plans to provide further funds to support child care during the fall. However, anticipating the need to support providers amid a surge in school-age care demand, Rhode Island produced guidance indicating that providers may receive subsidy payments for care provided to school-age children during remote learning hours.

More information here

South Carolina

In March, South Carolina received $63.7 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state primarily used these funds to offer child care assistance for families of essential workers, to offer child care sanitation grants, and to pay subsidies to providers based on enrollment through August.

In March, South Carolina received $63.7 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state primarily used these funds to offer child care assistance for families of essential workers, to offer child care sanitation grants, and to pay subsidies to providers based on enrollment through August. Effective August 31, the South Carolina Department of Social Services began paying subsidies based on attendance.

The state has yet to announce plans to provide further funding for child care providers. However, in order to ensure families have access to affordable school-age care this fall, the state has released guidance indicating that child care providers may receive subsidy payments for care provided to school-age children during remote learning hours. Additionally, on August 1, South Carolina began taking applications for Certificates of Temporary Operations from organizations interested in providing school-age care this fall.

More information here

South Dakota

In March, South Dakota received $9 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state primarily used these funds to offer a one-time grant to licensed providers through June.

In March, South Dakota received $9 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state primarily used these funds to offer a one-time grant to licensed providers through June. Awards ranged from $2,520 to $26,000 according to provider size and type. On August 18, the Department of Social Services reported that $3 million of the state’s supplemental CCDBG funds were distributed to providers through this program. The state has yet to announce plans about the distribution of remaining funds or plans to help providers and families address the need for school-age care this fall.

More information here

Tennessee

In March, Tennessee received $82.4 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state used these funds to fully cover child care costs for essential workers, pay subsidies based on enrollment, and offer Disaster/Emergency Response and Recovery Operations Cost Grants that help defray differences between provider rates and subsidy payments.

In March, Tennessee received $82.4 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state used these funds to fully cover child care costs for essential workers, pay subsidies based on enrollment, and offer Disaster/Emergency Response and Recovery Operations Cost Grants that help defray differences between provider rates and subsidy payments.

During the summer months, Tennessee paid enhanced subsidy rates to providers based on enrollment, rather than attendance, and covered all parent copays. To provide continued support for parents and providers this fall, the state extended these policies through December 31. The Department of Human Services will also continue to cover child care costs for essential workers through the end of the calendar year.

Additionally, the state extended the application window for the Disaster/Emergency Grant. Providers in need of reopening assistance or stabilization support may continue to apply through September 30. As many schools shifted to online instruction, the Department of Human Services partnered with the YMCA and Boys & Girls Clubs of Tennessee to offer free school-age care options for the families of essential workers. These temporary school-age care arrangements will be available through the fall, and the state produced guidance indicating that child care providers may receive subsidies for providing school-age care during hours of remote learning.

More information here

Texas

In March, Texas received $371.6 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state authorized $100 million of these funds to cover three months of child care costs for essential workers during the summer. Another $100 million was authorized to pay subsidies to providers at a 25% enhanced rate.

In March, Texas received $371.6 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state authorized $100 million of these funds to cover three months of child care costs for essential workers during the summer. Another $100 million was authorized to pay subsidies to providers at a 25% enhanced rate.

On August 20, the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) dedicated an additional $53.8 million of the supplemental CCDBG funds to extend enhanced subsidy payments through December. An additional $19.3 million was distributed to Local Workforce Development Boards to be used to defray the higher costs of providing child care during the pandemic. However, the TWC announced on August 24 that Stabilization Grants for closed child care providers would be discontinued effective September 30, as the purpose of this funding program was to offer temporary assistance for providers as they reopened.

When schools first closed at the beginning of the pandemic, Texas identified the need for affordable school-age care and covered full-time child care for students who originally received part-time afterschool care. Therefore, the state has focused on also providing necessary school-age care support this fall. The TWC announced on August 20 that it authorized an additional $33 million in supplemental CCDBG dollars for school-age care assistance and that providers may receive subsidies for school-age care provided during online school hours.

More information here

Utah

In March, Utah received $40.4 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. In order to support providers through closures and variable attendance levels from March through September, the state used these funds to pay subsidies to both open and closed providers based on enrollment, rather than attendance.

In March, Utah received $40.4 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. In order to support providers through closures and variable attendance levels from March through September, the state used these funds to pay subsidies to both open and closed providers based on enrollment, rather than attendance. On September 2, the Utah Department of Workforce Services announced that it will revert to attendance-based payments for all providers effective October 1.

However, to provide continued support for child care programs through the fall, the state has extended its Operations Grant, which was introduced in April and was set to discontinue on September 30. Licensed child care providers that received an Operations Grant award during the summer are permitted to amend their grant payment agreement so that they will receive a support payment from the state each month from October through December 2020.

The state recognizes that working parents need safe, affordable school-age care on virtual school days and that child care providers need financial support to ensure they have the capacity to meet this need. Therefore, providers offering school-age care this fall may apply for the Department of Workforce Services’ new School-Age Program Grant which opened for applications on September 4 and is funded with the state’s CCDBG funds. Awards for this noncompetitive grant range from $4,900 to $19,600 per month based on the provider’s operating capacity and expected operating costs. The state indicates that this contract-based grant will allow providers receiving the grant to continue invoicing for their monthly expenses with a projected end date of May 2021.

More information here

Vermont

In March, Vermont received $4.4 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state used these funds to support providers that cared for the children of essential workers and to offer financial support for closed programs.

In March, Vermont received $4.4 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state used these funds to support providers that cared for the children of essential workers and to offer financial support for closed programs. Programs that operated as emergency child care received $125 per child each week on top of tuition that was either paid for by subsidy or by the parent. Providers that were closed received subsidized tuition based on enrollment, rather than attendance, if they committed to paying all staff and asking families to pay half their usual tuition (or copay if they received subsidy). The state covered full tuition if families did not cover half the tuition. These payments ended May 30.

In May, the Vermont Department of Children and Families received an additional $6 million in non-CCDBG funds to offer Restart Stipends intended to help providers meet the costs of reopening amid the pandemic. Stipends were issued between May 27 and June 17, and amounts were based on the number of children a provider served and the number of weeks the provider planned to operate from June through August.

To provide continued support for the state’s child care providers into the fall, the Vermont legislature approved an additional $12 million of the state’s Coronavirus Relief Fund federal dollars in August for Operational Relief Grants. Licensed and unlicensed providers with revenue losses incurred between March and October due to COVID-19 were eligible to apply for this competitive grant by August 26 and received an award based on their expenses and revenue losses. To address the heightened need for school-age care this fall, providers caring for school-age children were permitted to apply for this grant.

More information here

Virginia

In March, Virginia received $70.8 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. To support child care programs through periods of low attendance throughout the summer, the state used these funds to offer Incentive Grants through June.

In March, Virginia received $70.8 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. To support child care programs through periods of low attendance throughout the summer, the state used these funds to offer Incentive Grants through June. Open licensed providers were eligible to receive $25 multiplied by half the provider’s licensed capacity for each week. Virginia also covered parent copays through June and continued to pay subsidies to closed providers. On June 10, Gov. Ralph Northam dedicated $10 million from the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund to help expand early childhood supports.

As of September, the state has $1.3 billion of its Coronavirus Relief Fund federal dollars remaining. Virginia’s House Appropriations Committee proposed a state budget in September which would dedicate $60 million of these remaining funds for child care stabilization supports and another $33.2 million for schools to partner with child care providers to meet the need for school-age care. It is important to note that these allocations are proposals, not final spending amounts, and they do not reflect the position of the state senate or the Northam administration.

More information here

Washington

In March, Washington received $58.6 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. To support providers through periods of low attendance, the state used $29 million of these funds to offer one-time grants ranging from $6,500 to $14,000 to open providers in May.

In March, Washington received $58.6 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. To support providers through periods of low attendance, the state used $29 million of these funds to offer one-time grants ranging from $6,500 to $14,000 to open providers in May. Additionally, Washington waived parent copays and paid subsidies to providers based on enrollment, rather than attendance, through June.

The state has yet to announce plans to provide additional funds to support child care providers through the fall. Washington’s Department of Children, Youth, and Families issued guidance on August 27 indicating that child care providers may receive subsidies for school-age care offered during remote learning hours. However, the state has not released any further plans to address the need for safe, affordable school-age care options this fall.

More information here

West Virginia

In March, West Virginia received $23 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state used these funds to cover child care costs for essential workers.

In March, West Virginia received $23 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state used these funds to cover child care costs for essential workers. Select child care programs were registered as Critical Child Care sites and the West Virginia Bureau for Children and Families paid these providers enhanced (Tier III) subsidy rates to care for the children of essential workers.

On September 16, Gov. Jim Justice (R) announced that he committed an additional $6 million of the state’s Coronavirus Relief Fund federal dollars to continue supporting the child care industry into the fall. The state has yet to announce how it will distribute these funds.

More information here

Wisconsin

In March, Wisconsin received $51.6 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. Between May 18 through July 10, the state fully distributed these funds through Incentive Pay grants that helped providers continue to pay staff, and Support for Temporarily Closed Child Care Programs grants that helped providers cover the added costs of reopening.

In March, Wisconsin received $51.6 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. Between May 18 through July 10, the state fully distributed these funds through Incentive Pay grants that helped providers continue to pay staff, and Support for Temporarily Closed Child Care Programs grants that helped providers cover the added costs of reopening. Recognizing the need for continued support as the pandemic persists, Wisconsin has dedicated an additional $30 million of its Coronavirus Relief Fund federal dollars to offer another round of grants in September.

Licensed or certified providers may apply for these funds through two new grant programs under Child Care Counts. Payment Program A offers noncompetitive grants to help providers cover the costs of PPE, sanitation supplies, and structural changes necessary for maintaining high quality care. Grant amounts include a base payment up to $7,000 for open providers or providers who are closed but plan to reopen by October 19, and an additional payment for open providers ranging from $100 to $1,200 per child depending on the age of the child and the number of hours the child was in attendance during the first week of September. Payment Program B provides funds to be used as incentive pay to assist providers in retaining employees. Providers may receive a base amount of up to $2,000 for staff recruitment and an additional $1,200 to $2,000 per staff for retention. Applications are open from September 9 through 18 for both programs, and award recipients will be notified on September 26.

The state also recognizes that families need school-age care options as schools shift to virtual instruction. To facilitate partnerships between Local Education Agencies and child care providers, the Department of Children and Families published extensive guidance on how providers can amend their license or relocate in order to work with schools. An expedited licensing process will also enable new providers to open quickly and safely to meet school-age care need. The state encourages families to apply for the state’s existing child care subsidy if they have a school-age child who will need child care during the virtual school day.

More information here

Wyoming

In March, Wyoming received $4.1 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state has fully obligated these funds.

In March, Wyoming received $4.1 million in supplemental CCDBG funds through the CARES Act. The state has fully obligated these funds. Through a third party, Kids First, Wyoming used $1.5 million for one-time grants to licensed centers and $1.8 million for grants to other providers including those that are license-exempt. Remaining funds were used to pay subsidies to providers based on enrollment, rather than attendance. In addition, Gov. Mark Gordon (R) recently allocated $243,000 of the state’s Coronavirus Relief Fund federal dollars to fund early childhood education transitions.

These flexible child care dollars represented a 60% increase in total discretionary appropriations for fiscal year 2020, and because the CARES Act was intended to be supplemental assistance to last for a few months, it is unsurprising that funding has largely dried out. As of September, the pandemic persists and both parents and providers continue to struggle as additional assistance has not arrived. In August, 70% of parents reported their child care programs were either still closed or were operating at reduced capacity or hours, and 14% of those parents indicated that their centers had permanently closed.

Through June, BPC tracked how all 50 states used their supplemental CCDBG funds and found that a number had already depleted their funds and began to pull from other funding sources to sustain their child care systems through continued months of variable attendance, capacity restrictions, and increased health and safety costs.

Click here for the information through June.

As we continue tracking states’ efforts to support parents and providers, it is clear they are looking for other funding sources to continue supporting children and families or are having to revert back to their pre-COVID policies. This information is included in the map above.

Due to the lack of further federal relief targeted for child care, 21 states have dedicated additional non-CCDBG funds to offer continued support for child care providers—14 of which used dollars they received from the Coronavirus Relief Fund. To distribute this support, states are offering grant programs to help providers make up for lost revenues. In July and August, 14 states offered child care grants to providers, and 24 states are doing so through the fall. However, due to the lack of further federal relief, the overall number of states offering grants this fall has declined since 47 states did so during the summer.

Early in the summer, many states used their supplemental CCDBG funds to pay subsidies to providers based on pre-pandemic enrollment, rather than attendance, in order to provide stability during periods of low and variable attendance. Now, 13 of the 34 states that paid subsidies based on pre-pandemic enrollment over the summer have reverted to attendance-based payments, while 10 will continue their enrollment-based policies for future months. Interestingly, eight states that have reverted to attendance-based payments have instead decided to distribute funds via grants through the fall.

This fall, states, families, and child care providers face an additional challenge in that most schools have shifted online: our August survey reports that over 70% of parents say their child’s public school will offer instruction either entirely online or in a hybrid format this fall. This change means that parents with school-age children below the age of 13 will need some type of care on remote learning days. For many working parents, finding and affording this care will be a logistical nightmare.

One new feature of this analysis was to investigate how states are responding to the need for school-age care. Sixteen states have produced guidance indicating that they will pay subsidies for school-age care provided during remote learning hours. Only seven states have offered financial assistance for school-age care beyond subsidy support.

As our analysis shows, most states have no further supplemental CCDBG funds to offer, and despite bipartisan efforts in Congress to include additional child care funds in a subsequent stimulus package, additional relief has yet to arrive.

As this crisis continues, the situation only looks bleaker for child care providers and parents. While some states are pulling together pieces of funding to help keep the child care system together, it is clear that more federal funding is desperately needed to prevent more permanent closures and additional parents from pulling out of the workforce all together. Congress should investigate providing dedicated assistance to both community-based school-aged care providers and child care providers to allow parents to continue working or go back to work, and to enable a successful economic recovery.

CCDBG State Tracker

Has Reverted to Attendance-Based SubsidiesHas Continued Enrollment-Based SubsidiesOffered Grants Any Time During the SummerOffered Grants in July or AugustOffers Grants Through the FallProvides School-Age Care Funds Other than SubsidiesProvides Guidance on Availability of School-Age SubsidiesIs Working to Connect Schools with Child Care ProvidersState Invested Non-CCDBG Funds in Child CareInvested Coronavirus Relief Fund Dollars in Child CareInvested Preschool Development Grant Dollars in Child Care
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WYXXX
Has Reverted to Attendance-Based SubsidiesHas Continued Enrollment-Based SubsidiesOffered Grants Any Time During the SummerOffered Grants in July or AugustOffers Grants Through the FallProvides School-Age Care Funds Other than SubsidiesProvides Guidance on Availability of School-Age SubsidiesIs Working to Connect Schools with Child Care ProvidersState Invested Non-CCDBG Funds for Child CareDedicated Coronavirus Relief Fund Dollars to Child CareDedicated Preschool Development Grant Dollars to Child Care
TOTAL1310471424717521144

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