The Colorado Department of Human Services, Office of Early Childhood (OEC) is excited to be investing a combined $271 million of federal stimulus funds to support child care programs and to retain the state’s early childhood education workforce.
Donor Name: Colorado Department of Human Services Office of Early Childhood
State: Colorado
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 09/30/2022
Details:
This single application allows providers to apply for two different grant opportunities. All eligible providers will receive the following two grant awards:
- Child Care Operations Stabilization Grant. This grant will offset existing operational expenses., Programs are encouraged to pass along financial relief to families in their care.
- Workforce Sustainability Grant. This grant will support the recruitment and retention of qualified staff through new offerings.
Eligibility Criteria
All currently operating licensed child care programs and CCCAP qualified-exempt programs are eligible for funding. This is a non-competitive funding opportunity. All eligible licensed providers are entitled to their nine months of payments regardless of when they submit their application. To be eligible for the grants, the child care program:
- Must have been in operation as a child care business as of March 11, 2021
- Must be licensed by the State of Colorado or CCCAP qualified exempt at the time of their application
- Must be open and available to provide child care services at the time of their application
- Can be operating in any setting (home- and center-based)
- Can be serving any age groups (infant, toddler, preschool, and/or school-age after care)
- Can be from any Colorado Shines rating level Allowable uses of grant funds include:
- Personnel costs, including wages and benefits
- Facility costs such as rent or mortgage payments, utilities, facilities maintenance and . minor improvements, or insurance
- Health and sanitation expenses such as personal protective equipment, cleaning supplies and trainings
- Purchase of or updates to equipment, assuming that the purchase is necessary to respond to the COVID-19 public health emergency or is necessary to maintain / r esume child care services. Purchases of equipment that costs more than $5,000 are subject to additional requirements outlined in the FAQ guidance.
- Goods and services such as food service, educational materials, office supplies, and business operating services
- Mental health and counseling services for children and early educators
- Reimbursement of costs associated with the COVID-10 public health emergency that occurred after the emergency declaration on January 31, 2020
- Capital purchases with prior written approval from the OEC.
For more information, visit Child Care Stabilization and Workforce Sustainability Grants.
