On July 1, 2024, Maine’s Office of Child and Family Services launched the Child Care Affordability Program (CCAP) Child Care Employment Award, a 2-year pilot program designed to make child care more affordable for those working in the state’s licensed child care programs. The program is made possible by $2.5 million per year in State General Funds and ends in June 2026.  All staff employed by licensed child care programs are eligible to apply for the Child Care Employment Award to help cover the cost of child care for their children. This includes all staff roles and all types of licensed programs. An applicant’s children can be enrolled in the child care program where the staff member works or at another licensed child care program in the state. To be eligible for the Child Care Employment award, the parent must be working at and the child must be enrolled in a licensed child care program that is part of Maine’s quality rating and improvement system, in which all staff are in Maine’s early childhood education workforce registry, that is participating in the Salary Supplement Program, and that is a qualified CCAP child care provider.  Payments—which are sent directly to the child care provider—are based on the county where the program is located, the age of the child, and the type of program in which the child is enrolled.  learn more: Child Care Affordability Program Child Care Employment Award Sources: Office of Child and Family Services. (2024). Memorandum: CCAP Child Care Employment Award. Maine Department of Health and Human Services.

In 2021, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill No. 131 into law. The bill includes $579 million in funding for child care and preschool providers, including $250 million in infrastructure grants to build or renovate child care facilities, with a focus on underserved areas. This law establishes the Early Learning and Care Infrastructure Grant Program under the administration of the Superintendent of Public Instruction to expand access to early learning and care opportunities for children up to five years of age by providing resources to build new facilities or retrofit, renovate, or expand existing facilities. This law appropriates $245,000,000 from the General Fund to the State Department of Education for these purposes, to be released on a prescribed schedule. The Early Learning and Care Infrastructure Grant Fund offers up to $1.5 million for Child Care and Development Centers and up to $100,000 for Family Child Care homes. The grant can be used to increase licensed spaces by renovating or building out an existing facility by adding classrooms, constructing a brand-new center-based facility, replacing a facility lost due to a state or federally declared disaster, or expanding Small Family Child Care Homes to Large Family Child Care Homes. Learn More: child care and development Infrastructure Grant Program Sources:Northern California Small Business Development Center. (n.d.). Infrastructure Grant ProgramCalifornia Legislature. (n.d.). AB-131 Child Development Programs.Office of Governor Gavin Newsom. (2021). Governor Newsom Signs Legislation Supporting Working Families and Child Care Providers.California Department of Social Services. (n.d.). New Construction and Major Renovation.

In January 2024, the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE)’s Office of Early Childhood began allowing child care workers employed in a licensed or registered child care or early childhood facility to qualify for the state's Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP), regardless of their income. The department also expanded CCAP eligibility to foster parents who become adoptive parents.   The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services—which administers more than $100 million each year in CCDBG funding to support child care assistance for low-income Arkansas families who work—had to approve ADE’s request for a waiver to allow the two groups to participate in the state’s CCAP.  To be eligible, child care workers must work for one of 1,400 programs that participate in the Child Care Assistance Program.   learn more: child care assistance for child care providers Sources: Arkansas Advocates for Children & Families. (2024). Administrative Win for the Child Care Workforce. Arkansas Department of Education. (2024). Arkansas Expands Child Care Assistance Program to Early Child Care Employees, Adoptive Parents.

In 2022, Kentucky legislators moved to make employees of licensed center-based or family child care programs automatically eligible for child care subsidies via the state’s Child Care Assistance Program, regardless of their household income. The policy was adopted by emergency administrative rulemaking in August 2022 and was simultaneously introduced through the ordinary rulemaking process, taking effect in October 2022. The program was initially paid for with American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds but was financed for two additional years in FY24 using state general funds.   Employees of licensed center-based or family child care programs who work 20 or more hours per week are automatically eligible for the Child Care Assistance Program. After one year of the program’s operation, 3,200 caregivers employed in early education programs and 5,600 children had benefitted from the program.  learn more: kentucky child care assistance for child care providers Sources: National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). (2022, December). Providing Child Care for Child Care Providers: A Strategy for Addressing Staffing Shortages and Compensation for Early Childhood Educators. Powell, A., & Dade, A. (2023). What the Bluegrass State Can Teach Us About Increasing Access to Child Care. Center for the Study of Child Care Employment. Hsu, A. (2023). Kentucky had an outside-the-box idea to fix child care worker shortages. It's working. NPR. Loewenberg, A. (2024). In Effort to Entice Child Care Staff, More States Follow Kentucky’s Lead. Alliance for Early Success.

In 2021, through Executive Order 8, Governor Kim Reynolds created the Child Care Task Force in response to the state's child care shortage; the Child Care Business Incentive Grant Program was created as part of the task force’s work. The grant program helps employers offer or expand on-site child care. In September 2022, $26.6 million was awarded for 23 projects and 1,786 new child care slots; in January 2023, another $443,234 was awarded for 5 projects and 77 new child care slots. Federal American Rescue Plan Act funds are being used for this grant program. Learn More: Iowa's Child Care Grants Sources: State of Iowa. (n.d.). Child Care Grants.State of Iowa. (2021). Governor's Child Care Task Force Report.Office of the Governor of Iowa Kim Reynolds. (2022). Gov. Reynolds announces $25M Child Care Business Incentive Grant Program.

In 2022, the state used Strengthening People and Revitalizing Kansas (SPARK) funding to create a grant program to support construction, major renovation, and operational activities to add high-quality and sustainable licensed childcare seats. The Child Care Capacity Accelerator grant program is administered through the Children’s Cabinet and Trust Fund (KCCTF) and the Kansas Department for Children and Families. A maximum of $39 million will be awarded for capital investments/construction and operational costs incurred during the project period. While there is no set minimum or maximum award amount, KCCTF anticipates awards in the range of $250,000 to $2,000,000 for collaborative projects that significantly close the child care capacity gap. Learn More: Child care capacity accelerator Sources: All in for Kansas Kids. (n.d.). Child Care Capacity Accelerator.Kansas State Department of Education. (n.d.). Information on Child Care Capacity Accelerator Community Grant Opportunity.Kansas State Department of Education. (2022). SPARK executive committee recommendations.

In 2022, the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development launched the Child Care Creation Grant Program using Community Development Block Grant CARES Act funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The program aims to expand child care capacity in Tennessee by providing $9 million in grants with a maximum award of $500,000. Only non-home-based providers are eligible for funding, which can be used for the following: acquisition of property, building, or structure; rehabilitation of facilities; purchase of equipment; and clearance or demolition of structures. Learn More: child care creation grant program Source: Greater Nashville Regional Council. (n.d.). Child care creation grant program.

In July 2020, Colorado passed HB 20-1053 to improve career and educational pathways for early childhood educators, including an apprenticeship program, the Child Care Development Specialist Federally Registered Apprenticeship Program, funded by approximately $5 million in federal stimulus money through September 2024 and administered through Red Rocks Community College. It is expected to address the workforce shortage in early childhood programs. Apprentices can earn an associate or bachelor’s degree and train to qualify as a child care center director. The program requires a 2-year commitment, and applicants must be at least 16 years old and either currently employed or willing to work full time in an early childhood program. The program requires 306 education hours and 4,000 hours of on-the-job learning with a mentor teacher. This program is the only federally registered apprenticeship for early childhood education in Colorado. Learn More: Red Rocks Community College Sources: Red Rocks Community College. (n.d.). Child Care Development Specialist Apprenticeship Program. Red Rocks Community College. (2018). Child Care Development Specialist. Brundin, J. (2021). Apprenticeships Aren’t Just For The Trades. It’s Also A Way To Bolster Colorado’s Early Childhood Workforce. Colorado Public Radio. Ellison, G. (2022). Colorado promotes apprenticeships for early childhood educators. Broomfield Leader.

In 2021, Minnesota established a grant fund, administered by the Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED), to fund solutions to reduce the child care shortage and support economic development across the state. The state authorized $2.5 million in spending from this fund in fiscal years 2022 and 2023. Funding is provided in the form of grants to local communities; at least 50% of the funds must go to communities outside the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. The grant can be used toward the cost of acquiring a building as well as rehab or renovation costs; applicants may request up to $300,000. DEED uses approximately 3% of appropriated funds to administer and monitor the program. Learn more: child care economic development Grant Source: Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development. (n.d.). Child care economic development.

In 2022, the Department of Health and Human Services awarded $30 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds to licensed child care providers to expand capacity in Nevada "child care deserts," defined as any census tract with more than 50 children under age 5 years that contains either no child care providers or so few options that there are more than 3 times as many children as licensed child care slots. 18 proposals out of 92 were approved. Learn More: Nevada's Child Care Expansion Grant Source: Nevada Recovers. (n.d.). Child care centers approved for federal funds.

In 2022, the Idaho Legislature approved $15 million in one-time American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding for grants to create more seats in high-quality child care facilities and offset start-up costs for child care businesses and providers that want to expand. An additional $15M is requested in the FY24 budget for the WDC to continue funding the expansion of child care. The Workforce Development Council (WDC) administers the grants to the organizations administering child care. The program permits grant recipients to use the funds for needs such as facility updates, staffing, and/or renovation of buildings; any project that exceeds $1 million in capital expenditures requires additional written justification under the ARPA program. The return on investment is measured by the total number of child care seats available two years after the contract’s end date. Learn More: Idaho's Child Care Expansion Grants Sources:Idaho Workforce Development Council. (n.d.). Child Care Expansion Grants.Idaho Workforce Development Council. (2021). Child Care Expansion Grant Policy.

In 2021, in an ordinance related to its COVID-19 response, Seattle created a new fund and amended its 2021 budget to allocate funds specifically for child care capital improvements. Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery funds were established under the American Rescue Plan Act to help households, businesses, and nonprofits in communities disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. The Human Services Department provided up to $5 million of these funds and up to $1 million in Community Development Block Grant funding to increase licensed capacity in preschool and child care facilities across the city. Eligible providers could apply for grants between $10,000 and $2 million; they were required to have experience serving children from birth to 5 years. Eligible activities for the grant include construction, renovation, or rehabilitation of facilities that increase the licensed capacity of direct service delivery space; and construction of new facilities that expands licensed capacity to serve children, either from the ground up or by substantially remodeling existing buildings. Awards were first issued on September 9, 2022, and will continue until December 31, 2024. Learn More: Seattle Child care facilities grant Sources:Seattle Department of Human Services. (n.d.). 2022 Child care facilities fund RFP.Seattle Department of Human Services. (2022). Question and Answer 2022 Child Care Facilities RFP.City of Seattle. (2021). Ordinance 126371.