HARRISBURG, Pa. — The Wolf Administration announced plans on March 2 to allocate $303 million in federal funds to support child care providers.
The money comes from the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021 (CRRSAA) that was signed into law in December.
“Child care providers across our commonwealth have endured a year of challenges and changes – circumstances that have made doing business incredibly challenging,” Gov. Wolf said. “A healthy, vibrant child care industry is a necessity to help our economy recover and support parents returning to work. We must remember this as we move forward and continue support for child care providers as they care for young Pennsylvanians and allow parents to work so our communities and economy can thrive.”
The funds will be allocated as follows: $140.7 million will be given to child care providers experiencing reduced enrollment and $64.6 million will be given to child care providers to account for increased costs in order to operate safely. Also, $87.17 million will support "increased, regionalized base payment rates for child care providers participating in subsidized child care" and $3 million will be used to expand the number of child care providers who can receive pandemic assistance to 5,000 people.
Additionally, $984,000 will provide an administrative rate increase to Early Learning Resource Centers and about $7 million is reserved in case "temporarily closed providers choose to reopen, which would then qualify them for support."
For more information on child care providers operating during the COVID-19 public health crisis, visit www.findchildcare.pa.gov.
