Background
An analysis completed by the Bipartisan Policy Center found that an
estimated 76,660 Ohio children are unable to access potentially needed
early care and education due to a gap in availability of early care and
education slots throughout the state. The Ohio Department of Children and Youth
(DCY) and Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) have allocated $85
million dollars of discretionary funding from the American Rescue Plan Act of
2021 (ARPA) for five competitive grant opportunities to improve access to early
care and education for Ohio children.
Programs must
be compliant with all applicable Ohio Administrative Code (OAC) and Ohio
Revised Code (ORC) requirements which include Child Care and Development Block
Grant Funds health and safety requirements and the completion of comprehensive
background checks.
What is a competitive grant?
Competitive grants are an opportunity for application. Competitive grants
are not entitlements and not every application will be approved for funding.
Each early care and education access grant application will be scored; with the
highest scores receiving funding.
Licensed early care and education programs can increase access to
services by starting new programs, expanding current capacity or making repairs
to their existing programs. Programs
may also use access grant funds to focus on building capacity and
evidence-based supports for children with special needs and evidence-based
training for staff and families to best serve children with special needs.
What are the five competitive early care and
education access grants and which program types are eligible to apply?
The five early
care and education access grant opportunities are: 1) New Center Start-Up Grant;
2) Program Expansion Grant; 3) Program Repairs Grant; 4) Family Child Care Type
B to Type A Grant; and 5) Increase Capacity for Children with Special Needs. While
programs may apply for one or all access grant opportunities that applies to
their program type, only one grant opportunity may be awarded per license
number.
Grant Type
|
New Center
|
Program Expansion
|
Program Repairs
|
Family Child Care Type B to Type A
|
Increase Capacity for Children with Special Needs
|
Center
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
|
X
|
FCC Type A
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
|
|
FCC Type B
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
|
School/Preschool
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
|
X
|
School-Age
|
X
|
X
|
X
|
|
|
Eligible provider types are listed with each access grant
outlined below. Generally, DCY licensed early care and education centers,
schools/preschools and family child care (FCC) type A and type B home providers
are eligible to apply. Child day camps and in-home aides (IHA) are not eligible
for participation in any of these access grants.
Are there any restrictions on expenses for these access
grants?
Yes, expenses for construction or major renovations (building a
program or constructing a new room) are not permitted. 45 CFR 98.2 defines
“major renovation” to mean “(1) structural changes to the foundation, roof,
floor, exterior or load-bearing walls of a facility, or the extension of a
facility to increase its floor area; or (2) extensive alteration of a facility
such as to significantly change its function and purpose, even if such
renovation does not include any structural change.” In other words, funds may
be spent on renovations such as painting, carpeting, and other activities that
neither add to the permanent value of the property nor significantly alter the
function or purpose of the facility.
New Center Start-Up Grant
Estimated Number of Grants: 150
Maximum Amount Program Can Request: $500,000 per program
Timeframe: The current program must apply to DCY for their new
center license by August 31, 2024. Proof of license application is required as
part of reconciliation. If new center license application is not made by August
31, 2024, funding must be returned.
Eligible Providers: Centers, Schools/Preschools, School-Age and
FCC Providers (if they intend to open a new early care and education center)
Eligible providers who qualify may use these funds related to
opening a new center by paying:
- Mortgage or rent expenses- including rent,
mortgage, utilities, insurance.
- Salary or benefits expenses- Paying personnel
costs; including onboarding new staff, maintaining/increasing wages or benefits
such as health, dental, vision, paid sick leave
or family leave, retirement contributions.
- Classroom supplies expenses- including
consumable materials and equipment for classroom use.
Program Expansion Grant
Estimated Number of Grants: 50 (Centers, Schools/Preschools,
School-Age) and 25 (FCC)
Maximum Amount Program Can Request: $50,000 per Center and
$5,000 per FCC provider
Eligible Providers: Centers, Schools/Preschools, School-Age and
FCC Providers
Eligible providers who qualify may use access grant funds for:
- Expanding the number of children served or
serving new age groups or serving more children with special needs. Examples of
program expansion include but are not limited to: adding more children to the
program capacity; adding or expanding care groups like infant/toddler,
school-age, or care for children with special needs; or expanding hours of
operation to include non-traditional hours (weekdays 7:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. or
between 12:00 a.m. Saturday to 6:00 a.m. Monday).
- Salary or benefits expenses- Paying personnel
costs; including adding new staff or work shifts, maintaining/increasing wages
or benefits such as health, dental, vision, paid sick leave or family leave,
retirement contributions.
- Classroom supplies expenses- including
consumable materials and equipment for classroom use.
Program Repairs Grant
Estimated
Number of Grants: 50 (Centers, Schools/Preschools, School-Age) and 25 (FCC)
Maximum Amount
Program Can Request: $100,000 per Center and $5,000 per FCC provider
Eligible
Providers: Centers, Schools/Preschools, School-Age and FCC Providers
Eligible
providers who qualify may use access grant funds for making repairs to their
facilities:
Conducting
facility maintenance, renovations, including those that make early
care and education programs inclusive and accessible for children and families
with disabilities. For example: lead abatement, mold remediation, ADA
compliance, parking lot, playground, roof or plumbing repairs.
Type B to Type A Grant
Estimated
Number of Grants: 10
Maximum Amount
Program Can Request: $25,000 per FCC provider
Timeframe: The
type B provider must apply to DCY for their new type A license by August 31,
2024. Proof of licensing application is required as part of reconciliation. If
new type A license application is not made by August 31, 2024, funding must be
returned.
Eligible Provider: Type B Family Child Care Home Providers
Eligible providers who qualify may use access grant funds to
convert to a type A program by paying for items listed below. (Note: FCC providers applying for this grant will not be awarded
FCC Expansion or FCC Repairs Access Grants.)
- Mortgage or rent expenses- Paying ongoing costs
including rent, mortgage, utilities, insurance.
- Salary or benefits expenses - Paying personnel
costs; including adding new staff or work shifts, maintaining/increasing wages
or benefits such as health, dental, vision, paid sick leave or family leave,
retirement contributions.
- Classroom supplies expenses- including
consumable materials and equipment for classroom use.
Increase Capacity for Children with Special Needs Grant
Estimated Number of Grants: 20
Maximum Amount Program Can Request: $100,000 per program
Eligible Providers: Centers and Schools/Preschools
Eligible providers who qualify may use access grant funds to
focus on:
- Capacity building and providing evidence-based
support for children with special needs.
- Evidence-based training for staff and families
to best serve children with special needs.
Who is eligible to apply for competitive early
care and education access grants?
Below are the applicant qualifications and access grant award
criteria. Applicants from all Ohio counties may apply. There is no county
requirement associated with this access grant opportunity. Applicants may use
the checklist below to determine whether they qualify and to prepare for the
online application process:
Check Box
|
Applicant Qualifications and Access Grant Criteria
|
|
Licensed by DCY and in "Continuous" license
status as verified in in the Ohio Child Licensing and Quality System (OCLQS).
|
|
In “Open” program status as verified in OCLQS and
serving children. A temporarily closed program can apply for these access
grants to reopen the temporarily closed program.
|
| License is in good standing as of the date of
application. Programs not in good standing include: 1) Programs in
enforcement during the qualification period. 2) Programs who have
had their Provider Agreement for Publicly Funded Child Care terminated,
within the five years prior to this application, due to misuse of funds. If a program is in good standing at the time of application
but is later determined not in good standing prior to the funds being
awarded, the funds may not be awarded. |
|
In agreement with access grant terms by certifying that
the early care and education program will, for the duration of the grant, use
funds only for the purposes indicated for each of the access grant types.
|
Who is not eligible to
apply for competitive early care and education access grants?
The following are not eligible for early care and education
access grants at this time:
- Child day camps and IHA.
- In "Provisional" license status as
verified in OCLQS.
- Out-of-state providers.
- Programs that have not properly reconciled
previous ARPA stabilization grant funds.
- 2023 Infant and Toddler Start-Up Grant
recipients are not eligible to receive the Program Expansion Grant.
How do programs apply for the competitive
early care and education access grants?
The early care and
education access grant application will be found in the Ohio Professional
Registry (OPR). Guidance and requirements are available on the Ohio
Child Care Resource and Referral Association’s (OCCRRA) website at www.occrra.org.
Eligible providers must submit an application through the OPR, via a program’s
organization dashboard at https://registry.occrra.org/.
All applications submitted during the application period are
eligible for review in this competitive grant process. Points will be assigned
to each application based on established criteria including, but not limited
to, children per slot with both parents in the workforce, evening care, weekend
care, infant care, toddler care, highly rated, anticipated children served, and
Inclusive Child Care Program (ICCP) designations obtained as of April 5, 2024.
There are no additional points awarded for submitting earlier in the process. The goal is to have a complete and well-thought-out application.
Programs that apply
must select at least one, some, or all of the access grants; however, funds
cannot be used toward an expense previously paid for with any ARPA
stabilization grant funding. When considering the amount to apply for,
programs should determine the amount of expenses they will have in the grant
expense period.
The table below is a
summary of the early care and education access grant timeline.
Application Period
|
Award Notification
|
Expense Period
|
Reconciliation Due
|
April 12, 2024 at 2 p.m. through April 26, 2024 at 5 p.m. |
May 3, 2024
| July 1, 2023 through August 31, 2024 |
August 31, 2024
|
What is the process for awarding these
competitive grants?
Early care and education access grant awards will be based on
allocations determined by the budget in each grant category starting with the
applicant with the highest points, until funding is exhausted. If the remaining
funding is not enough for the next request, OCCRRA may reach out and offer a
partial award or combine the remaining funds to complete a full award.
How will awarded programs receive payment?
Grant notification can be viewed by a status change in the
organization dashboard of the OPR. These statuses will be available on May 3,
2024. Payments will be processed approximately four weeks after the award
notification date.
What are the grant expense reconciliation
requirements?
Programs are required to complete a reconciliation for each
early care and education access grant. Reconciliations must be submitted no
later than August 31, 2024.
Reconciliations will be located in the program’s organization
dashboard in the OPR. Programs should retain receipts, invoices and
documentation for expenses used toward these grants. Reconciliation guidance
will be located at www.occrra.org. Should a program receive but not be able to spend
all of the funds provided, funds should be returned to OCCRRA.
Questions
Please contact OCCRRA with questions regarding the application
and process at support@occrra.org or 614-396-5959.