Early Matters Chattanooga expects a fund created in early April to help local child care programs keep their doors open to soon be depleted.
The Emergency Child Care Provider Bridge Fund has already awarded over $200,000 to 37 applicants in only three weeks.
25 of the programs that applied indicated that they are still open and providing services to the children of essential workers.
The state’s shelter-in-place orders left many early learning programs wondering how long they could continue to pay their staff before facing eventual layoffs. In response to the need for help, Early Matters Chattanooga made the decision to repurpose $260,000 of its Quality Matters fund, which launched in February.
The repurposed fund provides programs with 50 or fewer employees emergency funds to help them stay in business until they receive state or federal dollars. Grants range from $3,000 to $8,000 depending on program size and can be used to cover operational and/or payroll costs.
Upon reopening, providers across the nation expect reduced enrollment until the economy rebounds. “Losing childcare seats now because of a lack of immediate financial support to this industry through the COVID-19 wave would be a devastating blow to our economy over the long term,” said Angela Hayes, the city of Chattanooga Office of Early Learning business navigator. “As our economy reopens, parents returning to work must be able to depend on having access to quality child care.”
Ms. Hayes said the responses from recipients have ranged from overwhelming appreciation to tearful relief. She said, “When one provider was told that her program would be awarded a grant of $8,000, she responded, ‘Thank you God for this answered prayer. I can rest tonight knowing that I will be here for my families who depend on my service.”
When informed that she was a recipient, Sharon Calhoun, owner of Sharin n Carin home child care program said, “These funds will help make it easier to keep our doors open, so that we can continue to nurture children and help them become kindergarten-ready.”
To apply for remaining funds, early learning programs can visit www.earlymatterschatt.org. The funds are available immediately and will be awarded on a first-come first-served basis. Many providers in our community have applied for more substantial support through Federal, state and local initiatives, but child care businesses will most likely not receive those funds until late May or early June. Emergency Child Care Provider Bridge Fund recipients began receiving grants from this source in mid-April.
This collaboration between Early Matters Chattanooga, The City of Chattanooga, and The United Way of Greater Chattanooga was made possible by The Smart City Venture Fund and The City of Chattanooga.