Invest in New York - Child Care Deserts Grant for Existing Providers
Starting June 30, an additional $30M in funding will be available to support the expansion of existing child care programs in areas of NYS that lack sufficient child care slots.
Application submission for existing providers begins on June 30th and ends on August 4th, 2022 at 11:59PM. Existing providers are providers who were licensed/registered/permitted BEFORE January 28th, 2022. Please check this site for more information closer to June 30th.
New York State identified $100M to build and expand child care capacity in areas with the least supply, with $30M available to existing programs expanding capacity under their current license. Utilizing funding from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), child care desert funding represents an unprecedented opportunity and investment to build capacity and strengthen the state’s economy, by addressing the issues that impact businesses including chronic absence, productivity reductions and turnover due to inadequate options for quality child care in the most needed parts of the state.
RFA#2 for Existing child care providers seeks to expand the capacity and/or types of care currently available within licensed programs.
General Requirements (source: https://ocfs.ny.gov/programs/childcare/deserts/existing.php#overview)
Eligible providers must be operating an existing licensed child care program before January 28, 2022 and have a base RFA score of at least 30, based on their site location. Providers must have contacted their assigned OCFS regulator or NYC DOHMH borough office about changes to their license and initiated the process for updating program specifics before submitting their application. NYCDOHMH permitted Article 47 day care centers must initiate contact with their borough office regarding permit changes.
The RFA is organized into two components:
Component
Component A: For Day Care Centers, including NYC Article 47 Centers, and School Age Child Care programs
Component B: For Small Day Care Centers, Family Day Care and Group Family Day Care programs
RFA Requirements
Component A: To expand up to 25 NEW child care slots under their existing license.
Component B: To provide at least ONE of the following:
Expand program hours to include at least 15 hours of nontraditional hour care a week.
Provide services to at least one newly enrolled infant/toddler.1
Provide services to at least one newly enrolled child with special needs.1
Please note: This grant opportunity is for child care programs that are licensed/permitted/registered before 1/28/2022 with either OCFS or NYCDOHMH who are seeking to expand capacity under their existing license. If you are a new provider please review the Invest in New York – Child Care Deserts Grant for New Providers to see if you qualify for that opportunity.