Are you still waiting to receive your share of the ARP stimulus funds provided to child care?

If you are still waiting, you are far from alone.  Unfortunately over half of the states have yet to provide any or most of these funds to their childcare providers.  As you may recall the American Rescue Plan that was passed in March of this year provided $39B to help childcare.  $15B of it was added to the Child Care Development Block Grant (CCDBG) and the other $24B was set aside to help stabilize the child care infrastructure.  The Administration of Child and Family Services provided states the following information which encouraged them to use their additional CCDBG money for the following purposes:

• Prioritize using the funds to raise subsidy payment rates
• Increase child care workforce compensation
• Take bold steps to support children’s development needs, choices for parents and increased access to assistance for families

In addition, the guidance encouraged:

• Supply-building activities, including care for infants and toddlers and care during non-traditional hours
• Setting payments based on the cost of quality, rather than traditional market rate survey
• Expanding the use of grants and contracts to support program stability and supply building
• Paying child care subsidies based on children’s enrollments rather than attendance

The additional $24B was designated for child care stabilization grants.  The goal of the grants is to provide financial relief to child care providers to help defray unexpected business costs associated with the pandemic, and to help stabilize their operations so that they may continue to provide care.  Child care providers may use subgrants to cover a range of expenses such as personnel costs; rent or mortgage payments; insurance; facility maintenance and improvements; personal protective equipment (PPE) and COVID-related supplies, training and professional development related to health and safety practices; goods and services needed to resume providing care; mental health supports for children and early educators; and reimbursement of costs associated with the current public health emergency.  To date only 20 states have posted grant applications for their providers. I know that many of you are trying to figure out how to get your Governor, Legislators, or Lead Agencies to move this process along so that you as providers can receive the money your federal legislators wanted you to have. 

Click here for more info.

THIS WEDNESDAY, October 6, 2021, The National Child Care Association’s, “Webinar Wednesday,” resumes with, “How to Use Technology as a Helping Hand When You Need it the Most” presented by Dr. Nermeen Dashoush and Alexandra Post Miller of MarcoPolo.

Learn:

– Practical and easy ways to create meaningful learning experiences
– How to leverage technology to address the unique challenges teachers are facing during the pandemic
– Ways to foster family engagement and keep children excited about learning during this difficult time

Register for the Webinar and be entered to win one of three 30-day free trials to MarcoPolo for Educators!

Introducing: Dr. Nermeen Dashoush, Chief Curriculum Officer at MarcoPolo Learning.
– Ph.D. in STEM education and Masters in Curriculum and Teaching from Columbia University;
– Professor of Early Childhood Education at Wheelock College, Boston University;
– Educational researcher, 10+ years experience as a classroom teacher and curriculum developer.

Introducing Alexandra Post Miller, Director of Research and Innovation at MarcoPolo Learning.
– M.Ed Harvard University Graduate School of Education and Masters in Curriculum and Teaching from Columbia University;
– 5 years teaching early childhood;
– Former senior content and marketing researcher at Scholastic, Mattel/Fisher Price, and Google.

MarcoPolo Learning is an award-winning educational media and technology company for children ages 3-7. Its newly designed platform for educators, MarcoPolo for Educators, empowers educators with a high-quality, developmentally appropriate video content library, including resources to thoughtfully and seamlessly incorporate child-led digital discovery at school, and features to personalize and extend learning opportunities that uniquely engage families at home.

Sign up today for THIS WEDNESDAY from 1-1:45pm EST NOW!

Families are struggling to afford high-quality child care as the cost of care increases year after year. The Build Back Better plan would ensure working families can afford quality childcare and preschool. Let’s build a child care and early learning system that works for working families.

Tell your representatives that now is the time to #SolveChildCare.

National Child Care Members/Advocates and Business Affiliates:

We want to share with you the latest information as it relates to the Advance Child Tax Credit 2021. As you know, these payments are an expansion of the Child Tax Credit and allow parents to get up to fifty percent of their credit in advance by the 15th of each month, between July 15 through December 15, 2021. The remaining portion of the credit can be claimed when the parent files their tax return next filing season. This money can quickly add up to a significant amount and can help parents who have been struggling financially.

Although the IRS has already issued advance payments to over 39 million households based on information provided on their 2020 tax returns, there may be some families missing out, because the IRS does not have the most current information available, such as mailing address, or financial account information to receive the convenience of direct deposit. As a result, this week’s message focuses on the new address feature on the Child Tax Credit Update Portal, which is available on irs.gov. Generally, updates entered into the portal can take up to seven calendar days to be reflected on an account. As a result, if a parent would like their advance payment mailed to their new address in time for the fourth installment (October 15 payment), then the information must be entered into the portal no later than October 4, 2021.

Click here to access the Child Tax Credit Update Portal.

Sadly, since the start of the pandemic there has been an increase in tax scams involving Economic Impact Payments, unemployment compensation, and now advance child tax payments.  

Please be vigilant!

Click here for a video on how to avoid phishing scams! 

Thank you to Filomena Trujillo-Mealy, IRS Communication & Liaison, for this info.

Did you miss the National Child Care Association’s latest webinar, “Successfully Managing Your Business as an ECE Owner?”

No worries…we have you covered. Watch the video today!

National Child Care Members/Advocates and Business Affiliates:

We want to share with you the latest information as it relates to the Advance Child Tax Credit 2021. As you know, these payments are an expansion of the Child Tax Credit and allow parents to get up to fifty percent of their credit in advance by the 15th of each month, between July 15 through December 15, 2021. The remaining portion of the credit can be claimed when the parent files their tax return next filing season. This money can quickly add up to a significant amount and can help parents who have been struggling financially.

 Although the IRS has already issued advance payments to over 39 million households based on information provided on their 2020 tax returns, there may be some families missing out, because the IRS does not have the most current information available, such as mailing address, or financial account information to receive the convenience of direct deposit. As a result, this week’s message focuses on the new address feature on the Child Tax Credit Update Portal, which is available on irs.gov. Generally, updates entered into the portal can take up to seven calendar days to be reflected on an account. As a result, if a parent would like their advance payment mailed to their new address in time for the fourth installment (October 15 payment), then the information must be entered into the portal no later than October 4, 2021.

Click here to access the Child Tax Credit Update Portal. 

Sadly, since the start of the pandemic there has been an increase in tax scams involving Economic Impact Payments, unemployment compensation, and now advance child tax payments.  

Please be vigilant!

Click here for a video on how to avoid phishing scams.

Thank you to Filomena Trujillo-Mealy, IRS Communication & Liaison, for this info.

Let Your Voice Be Heard!

The Child Care Industry has always had their struggles. However, since the beginning of the Covid-19 Pandemic, these struggles have only grown. At the start of the pandemic, most daycares were forced to shut down. This left teachers without jobs and owners without the income necessary to keep their businesses open. When the green light was given for facilities to open back up, not all providers were able to open their doors. This led to many parents unable to find affordable childcare for their children.

While Congress provided funding for childcare centers to help keep their doors open, this was not a long-term solution. The issues need to be fixed once and for all. We need to provide teachers a higher livable wage so that they can come to work and take care of our children. We need to build a better infrastructure to support the childcare industry now and for years to come. These children are our future!

CLICK below to let your U.S. Legislators know that you want them to ACT NOW!

Calling on ALL Child Care Advocates to ACT NOW!

Child Care is infrastructure, connecting work and jobs. Child care is what makes all other work possible! Yet did you know that Child Care and Early Education work is one of the lowest-paid professions in the U.S.?

We are losing our workforce because they cannot live on poverty wages.

The time to ADVOCATE for robust investment in child care is NOW.

The lack of affordable high-quality child care costs about $57B a year in lost productivity, wages, and our economy. We need to create a child care system that meets the needs of children, families, communities, and child care providers. 

We are calling on all stakeholders to SPEAK OUT for HIGH QUALITY, AFFORDABLE, and ACCESSIBLE Child Care and Early Education. It is as simple as clicking here to let your U.S. Legislators know that you want them to ACT NOW! 

Click here to SPEAK OUT for HIGH QUALITY, AFFORDABLE, and ACCESSIBLE Child Care and Early Education!

National Child Care Members/Advocates and Business Affiliates:

As you are well aware there are many different proposals coming from the White House and Congress this summer that will provide the largest ever investment in America’s child care system. For the first time ever we have the attention of our federal lawmakers. Due to Covid-19 they now know that saving child care and early education for the long term is ESSENTIAL to children, families, employers and our economy. They also know that high quality care and education is not accessible and affordable for all. Now that we have their attention every ESSENTIAL child care professional receiving this newsletter has the opportunity and most of all the responsibility of being a VOICE for children, families, and yourself. I hope by sharing this information with you that has been provided to us by one of our advocacy partners, Child Care Aware of America, we can count on everyone letting their federal legislators know what you need to be a high-quality and sustainable early care and education business and educator. REMEMBER YOU ARE ESSENTIAL and YOUR INPUT REGARDING THIS MATTER IS ESSENTIAL!

This is a serious call to action. Please take the time to see what is on the table and contact your members of Congress.

Sincerely,
Cindy Lehnhoff
Director of the NCCA

Many policy proposals that are aimed at improving child care have already come out of Congress and the White House this year. Policymakers at the federal level increasingly recognize the urgent need for long-term, sustainable investment in America’s child care system. CCAoA’s new two-part blog series breaks down what’s included:
Child Care Proposals from Congress
Child Care in Proposals from the White House

As Congress and the White House continue to negotiate over which policies will ultimately be included in infrastructure and budget bills this summer, make sure you know what has been proposed already with our blogs. Once you have, contact your Members of Congress and tell them to support sustainable, long-term federal investment in child care that makes high-quality, affordable care a reality for families.

Thank you to Child Care Aware for this info.

Parents, Employers, Educators, and Child Care Business Owners:

Congress is moving forward with a reconciliation bill that could include the long-term, sustainable investments in child care that parents and providers are desperate for. Your Members of Congress need to hear from you about why these investments are vital to creating a more equitable, affordable, and accessible child care system in America.

ACT NOW!

Thank you for your continued advocacy,

Anne Hedgepeth
Senior Director of Federal and State Government Affairs
Child Care Aware® of America

Cindy Lehnhoff
Director of the NCCA