Dear early care and education supporters --

Below is information on the release of "round 3" of CARES Act funds for child care programs, the Penn State Harrisburg study that informed the distribution of that funding and finally a video from Tracey Campanini, the Office of Child Development and Early Learning Deputy Secretary, which touches on a number of important topics. We encourage you to read them in full. 

In addition, I'd like to draw attention to an important fact from the Penn State Harrisburg study. It found that COVID-19's impact on child care programs through Labor Day was $325 million in new costs and lost revenues. While we are incredibly grateful to our federal and state officials for the CARES Act funds, the total cost is more than the three rounds of CARES Act funding that child care providers will receive once round three is distributed. We also know programs will continue to incur new weekly costs in continued PPE purchases and lose revenue due to reduced capacity to implement the CDC guidance appropriately and lower enrollment as a result of parent concern -- just to name a few. Working families and our economy rely upon child care programs to thrive and our state and elected officials need to do more to support the sector so more programs do not close!

PennAEYC will not stop advocating for you. At the federal level we are working hard with our partners in the Start Strong PA campaign and NAEYC to encourage our congressional delegation to support a $50 billion stabilization fund for child care. At the state level, we've fought to halt the implementation of a policy to pay child care subsidies based on attendance, rather than enrollment prior to the pandemic, as we've heard your concern about the impact this will have on your programs. Unfortunately, that policy went into place yesterday. We are not giving up and are continuing to advocate that it be reversed until data is gathered to determine the potential impact. 

Thank you to so many of you that participated in the recent action alert on the subsidy payment policy. Please stay tuned after Labor Day for continued action you can take with us at the state and federal levels.

In the meantime, be safe and well,
Jen and the PennAEYC Team
Department of Human Services Distributes $117 Million in CARES Act Funding for Child Care Providers
Round three of Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) child care payments are now available to certified, eligible child care providers who complete the Attestation Form and submit it to their Early Learning Resource Center (ELRC) no later than September 2020.

The CARES Act funding is intended for eligible licensed providers who have reopened, opened since July 17, 2020, or intend to reopen operations. Licensed providers who permanently close are not eligible for CARES Act funding. Child care providers must agree to remain open for a minimum of 60-business days after receipt of the funds.

Child care providers accepting funds must maintain documentation of use and be able to provide a reporting of expenditure uses if asked. CARES Act funds can be used to support needs such as occupancy, utilities, salaries, benefits, cleaning, sanitation, materials and supplies. Licensed providers should consider using funds to purchase cloth masks, cleaning supplies or other materials to screen children for COVID-19 and mitigate the spread of COVID19. Funds awarded under this distribution must be spent by November 30, 2020. PennAEYC again thanks the General Assembly and Gov. Wolf for supporting the Start Strong PA request to allocate discretionary CARES Act funds for early care and education programs!
Penn State Harrisburg Completes Study on COVID-19 Impact on Child Care Programs
The Impact of COVID-19 on Pennsylvania Child Care study, completed by researchers at Penn State Harrisburg’s Institute of State and Regional Affairs, analyzed the financial costs of the COVID-19 crisis to child care providers, the possibility of permanent closures as a result of the crisis and the level of investment needed to sustain the industry during a transitional period of low demand and after the crisis has subsided. Researchers drew conclusions from both detailed surveys distributed to hundreds of child care providers throughout Pennsylvania and also a smaller number of personal interviews with child care providers and workers.The impact study reports that the financial impact of COVID-19 to child care providers through Labor Day is $325 million in new costs and lost revenues since the shutdown. Without immediate assistance to offset ongoing costs associated with implementing COVID-19 guidelines and reduced enrollments, the study found it is expected that 280 providers will permanently shut their doors and an additional 1,000 providers are at risk of closure. 

The study’s recommendations were used to guide distribution of this round of federal CARES Act funding allocated for child care.
For more information on other relevant topics, watch a new video message from OCDEL Deputy Secretary, Tracey Campanini, as she shares information for educators. Get the links mentioned in the video:

Phone: (717) 635-9026
Toll Free: 888.272.9267
415 Market St.
Harrisburg, PA 17101