Licensed programs have one week left to apply and receive funding for $1,000 staff bonuses and resources to keep their doors open. | Vibrant Futures/Facebook
Licensed programs have one week left to apply and receive funding for $1,000 staff bonuses and resources to keep their doors open. | Vibrant Futures/Facebook
Licensed child care programs interested in applying for a Child Care Stabilization Grant have just over a week to apply, according to an announcement from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
“The first-round stabilization investments have been a game changer for the child care sector,” said Chana Edmond-Verley, CEO at Vibrant Futures, in a May 12 press release. “Providers are expressing appreciation and thanks for the unprecedented investment in their work through the Child Care Stabilization Grant. Family home providers, and center directors are certainly telling us these investments have been one of the keys to: staying in business, reopening doors, retaining talent, recapturing losses, and more importantly, continuing to exercise the deep calling to do what they love—care for children.”
Providers are taking advantage of the grant so they will have the funds needed to serve, nurture and support children, Edmond-Verley added.
The Child Care Stabilization Grant will facilitate $365 million in funds to give child care providers $1,000 bonuses and thousands more toward the operations budget of state child care businesses, the release stated.
"Child care is essential to helping families, communities, and small businesses succeed, and child care professionals and programs go above and beyond every day to care for our kids, helping them learn and grow in a safe environment," Whitmer said in the release. "Countless Michiganders rely on child care to go to work knowing that their kids are safe. High-quality, affordable child care uplifts working families and our kids. That’s why I was proud to work across the aisle to make game-changing investments in our child care providers and professionals in the bipartisan budget I signed last September.”
The grants were made possible through bipartisan efforts to expand low-cost daycare to 105,000 kids and aid providers in renovating their buildings, the governor said.
More than 3,000 programs have applied for grants and funding is still available, according to the governor’s office. Those interested in applying can do so through the Michigan Department of Education Child Development and Care website.
“Child care professionals are essential” said Dawne Bell, CEO of the Early Childhood Investment Corporation, in the release. “In recognition of the extraordinary role that child care has played these past three years and will play in Michigan’s economic recovery, help is on the way. The Child Care Stabilization Grants are a critical boost for a crucial industry in our state. We want every eligible program to apply and receive these resources.”
The deadline to apply is 6 p.m. Thursday, May 26, according to the release.
"The Child Care Stabilization Grants are a significant investment in Michigan’s child care infrastructure,” said Jessica Savoie, director of early childhood services at the Eastern Upper Peninsula Intermediate School District. “These grants are sustaining thousands of small child care business owners across the state, investing in the child care workforce, and keeping costs lower for families.”
The grants have kept the doors open in many rural areas where access and availability to licensed quality care is often scarce, she added.
“The funding investment is crucial to our economy and the future of Michigan’s youngest learners,” Savoie said.
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