State Delivers Additional Pandemic Relief for Child Care
Wed, 10/14/2020 - 2:24pm
admin
On October 7, the Department of Health and Senior Services announced it was dedicating $10 million in CARES Act funds to offer additional relief for Licensed, License-Exempt and Registered child care providers throughout Missouri.
"Many child care providers have experienced additional costs and financial hardship due to the pandemic. The additional relief will help ensure working families throughout Missouri can access safe and reliable child care," said Brian Schmidt, Executive Director of Kids Win Missouri.
A report released by Kids Win Missouri in June details the additional costs child care providers have taken on as they work to maintain healthy and safe environments through the pandemic, abiding by CDC guidelines and local health orders or restrictions. Additional costs include purchasing PPE, sanitation supplies, additional staff to accommodate health and safety requirements as well as lower teacher-to-student ratios and group sizes, and other equipment to modify spaces to help meet requirements.
To date, pandemic relief for child care has been included in negotiations around a new federal stimulus package. Kids Win Missouri and organizations throughout the country have been advocating for a federal investment of $50 billion to stabilize child care providers' operations and maintain the supply of child care at pre-pandemic levels.