Funding Awarded to Northwest Iowa Child Care Businesses
In April 2021, the Department of Human Services (DHS) contracted with Mid-Sioux Opportunity, Inc. to implement the Investing in Iowa Child Care funding program. The program is administered by Child Care Resource and Referral (CCR&R).
Investing in Iowa Child Care funding is intended to increase availability of child care throughout the State. Funding is available for businesses that are licensed or registered by DHS or are seeking to be licensed or registered by DHS. Child care businesses could apply for three types of funding:
· Start-up funding: funding for applicants that are in the process of becoming licensed or registered by DHS.
· Expansion funding: funding for child care facilities that are already licensed or registered but want to expand the number of children they are able to care for.
· Urgent Regulatory funding: funding for child care facilities that are already licensed or registered and have an urgent need related to regulations.
Through Investing in Iowa Child Care, funding has been awarded to 70 child care businesses in the 23 counties served by Mid-Sioux’s Child Care Resource and Referral program.
· 16 Start-Up applications awarded
· 28 Expansion applications awarded
· 26 Urgent Regulatory applications awarded
· 921 Estimated new child care slots created
Kelsey Andersen, Director of Bluff's Little Thinkers, based in Sergeant Bluff, shares how Investing in Iowa Child Care funding has improved her business.
On May 11th, 2021 my center was approved for the Investing in Iowa Child Care Grant. I can still very vividly remember getting the email and being so excited just seeing the subject line. When I opened our letter with an approval amount, I instantly started crying tears of joy. Thanks to the Investing in Iowa Child Care we have been able to completely transform the inside of our center with all new classroom furniture, developmentally appropriate toys that foster learning, flooring, additions of classroom walls, research-based curriculum, professional sanitizers, and many other things. Along with the indoor changes, we were able to update our playground. Our contractor removed over 100 tons of pea gravel and wood chips from the current playground. We put in specially designed early childhood equipment that is rated for infants, toddlers and preschoolers, thousands of square feet of safe surfacing, and a privacy vinyl fence. Now that we have the majority of the upgrades that we so desperately needed, we are able to increase our number of children to our full capacity which is 72 vs. our old operational capacity of 62.
