Child Care Stabilization Grant
Application Closed
The Early Childhood Education and Care Department (ECECD) is pleased to announce the Child Care Stabilization Grant. This grant opportunity is made possible via the American Rescue Plan Act, which includes federal funding for New Mexico to invest in its child care system to ensure child care providers are economically stable and that safe, high quality, and affordable child care is available for all families.
The following information is needed to complete the application:
- Program information
- Program operation details (to include: hours of operation in February 2020, December 2020, and current)
- Enrollment information (to include: children enrolled in PreK, average enrollment by age for January 2020 and current)
- Staffing information (current number of staff by full-time/part-time status and role)
- Estimated current monthly expenses
Contact Information:
Eligible Providers:
- Licensed centers, group homes, and family child care homes that were open or temporarily closed as of March 11, 2021.
- Registered homes that were open or temporarily closed as of March 11, 2021 and participate in the child care assistance program.
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Must be in good standing with child care licensing.
NOT-ELIGIBLE:
- Head Start programs (ARPA funding available to Head Start grantees)
- Child Care providers that are permanently closed
- Registered homes – food only programs
ECECD is committed to ensuring a fair and simple distribution process for this grant opportunity. Equity is integrated into the funding formula for each eligible child care provider throughout the state. ECECD developed criteria that will be utilized to determine the grant awards.
The funding criteria included the following:
- Total authorized capacity
- Capacity under 2 years old
- Quality level
- Remaining open during pandemic
- Social Vulnerability Index
Eligible expenses for the Child Care Stabilization Grant are as follows:
- Personnel costs and benefits;
- Premium pay, or costs for employee recruitment and retention;
- Rent (including under a lease agreement) or payment on any mortgage obligation, utilities, or insurance;
- Facility maintenance or improvements, including outdoor learning spaces/playgrounds;
- Equipment that helps maintain or resume child care services to include: Personal protective equipment, cleaning and sanitization supplies to respond to COVID-19 (e.g., gloves, face masks, sanitizer, disinfectant supplies, etc.);
- Health and safety trainings for staff, including but not limited to, CPR, first aid and medication administration;
- Mental health supports for children and employees (e.g., provide social and emotional development trainings, therapy/counseling, etc.).
The grant dollars MUST be expended for the above-outlined purposes.
All grant recipients must spend the funds by September 2023 and will need to submit a summary report detailing how the funds were spent.
ECECD will conduct random audits to ensure that the funds are expended according to the grant’s intent.