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Stabilize Child Care with the CARES Act Stimulus

  • Early Care and Education
  • Family Economic Security
  • Federal Advocacy
  • State Advocacy

By Emily Griffey

As COVID-19 continues to present challenges to the child care community, we are looking for ways tht  policymakers can respond. On March 27th, Congress included $3.5 billion in additional resources for child care programs in the stimulus package, the CARES Act. This will result in an additional $67 million for Virginia allocated to our Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG).

Virginia uses federal CCDBG dollars to support child care subsidy, licensing and quality improvement. States have a lot of choices to make with these federal dollars, and a lot of flexibility to meet the needs of working families and child care programs.

The stimulus provides additional flexibility with an emphasis on responding to the COVID-19 crisis. Funds can now be used to:

  1. Continue payment for child care subsidy upon decreased enrollment or temporary closure.
  2. Provide financial assistance for child care regardless of income for essential personnel such as health care workers and emergency responders.
  3. Purchase emergency cleaning supplies and sanitation activities in response to COVID-19.

Virginia policymakers must make decisions about how these additional funds will be used. Voices has heard from home-based family child care providers, nonprofits,and center-based providers that there is an immediate need to ensure that these financial resources are available to support the child care community.

Child care stakeholders shared their feedback with Voices. Advocates ask that the state use federal Child Care and Development Block Grant dollars to:

 

 

While there are difficult choices to make, one choice is simple: Virginia must support child care programs now or we risk them closing and not being able to re-open.

Where the state can act to stabilize the child care industry it should and should act quickly. Continuing to pay providers that serve economically disadvantaged families, and offering additional resources to programs following more rigorous safety protocols, are essential steps to support the child care industry.

Join us in asking the state to prioritize a swift response to stabilize child care providers. Please share this message with your state and local elected officials. 


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