Childcare providers may be eligible for additional state funding. The Alabama Department of Human Resources is offering its fifth round, task five grants starting this Friday. The application window closes June 16th.
Grants are available for any childcare facility that is home or center-based, privately owned, licensed and in good standing with the department. Grants are funded through the American Rescue Plan Act.
Grant amounts reflect the number of childcare slots a provider has. Childcare slots are the number of children a facility is allowed to care for each day. The grants will offer $2,000 per childcare slot.
Faye Nelson is with the Alabama Department of Human Resources. She says providers may use these funds in a variety of ways.
“This particular grant allows a great deal of flexibility for the childcare provider,” Nelson said. “They can utilize it for employee pay, facility maintenance, purchases of classroom materials, cleaning supplies, meals [and] even tuition to assist families.”
Grants cannot be used for facility renovation or construction.
This is not the only grant the Alabama Department of Human Resources has offered for childcare facilities. However, it is the fifth round of the task five grant for temporary assistance.
Nelson says since the pandemic, these grants have helped stabilize Alabama’s workforce. “It is making childcare available to working parents. As parents are working, you are increasing the workforce,” she said. “That is one of the main goals of our Department of Commerce, the Department of Labor and the emphasis that comes from the governor, who is trying to get individuals back into the workforce.”
Though the agency offered no definitive date or schedule, applicants can expect to receive their grants shortly after applications are approved.
