For Immediate Release: Tuesday, September 29, 2020
Funding spearheaded by Council President Sidney Katz will increase the sustainability of the school-age child care sector, help families of school-age children to access full-day child care while MCPS is meeting virtually, and remove barriers that prevent foster families from accessing full day child care subsidies
ROCKVILLE, Md., Sept. 29, 2020—Today the Montgomery County Council unanimously approved a special appropriation of $7,687,000 to support school-age child care providers operating licensed child care programs in public school buildings and aid families in accessing full-day care. The full Council sponsored this appropriation, which was initiated by Council President Sidney Katz.
“I am very pleased that we are able to make this investment in school-age child care while students in Montgomery County are engaged in distance learning because of the pandemic,” said Council President Katz. “This funding addresses the need to ensure equitable access to child care for all families in Montgomery County. This is not only an issue of equity in education, but a critical component of our County’s economic recovery, as it allows furloughed child care providers to return to work and caregivers to attend to their professional responsibilities. On behalf of myself and my colleagues at the Council, I would like to sincerely thank the Montgomery County School-Age Child Care Coalition and the Department of Health and Human Services for their collaboration in this effort.”
The funding for school-age child care providers is needed to offset increased COVID-19-related expenses and decreased revenue from lower classroom capacity, as well as the inability to operate in school space since March 2020. Many of these providers did not qualify for support for school-age child care services through the County’s Public Health Emergency Grant program or the Early Care and Education Initiative Recovery Fund.
The special appropriation provides $1.8 million to support reopening grants for full-day, school-age child care services in Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) buildings. Grant awards will be based on the number of classrooms that the child care provider will be opening in school space during the first semester of the MCPS 2020-2021 school year multiplied by $19,500. The maximum grant amount for each organization is $250,000. To be eligible for a grant, child care providers must: reopen full-day, school-age child care classrooms in MCPS buildings during the first semester of the MCPS 2020-2021 school year; have a Maryland license to operate child care in the classrooms; have a facility use license for the classrooms through the Office of Community Use of Public Facilities; and be in good standing with the State of Maryland.
This special appropriation will also support working families with incomes below 400 percent of the Federal Poverty Level and foster families by funding before, during and after school child care while MCPS is meeting virtually during the first semester of school ending on January 29, 2021. This care will provide supervision to children ages five through 13 who would otherwise be in school but for the restrictions to in-person learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
This special appropriation also provides $5.6 million to provide tuition assistance for full-day, school-age child care services offered by child care centers, registered family child care homes or letter of compliance programs located in the County. Reimbursement for services must be based on the Maryland Family Network average rate for five-year-old children in Montgomery County.
Eligibility for this tuition assistance will be determined separately and differently from existing subsidy programs. The funds will be administered by the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Children, Youth and Families. To be eligible for these services, a child must live in the County, be enrolled in MCPS, and actively attend a full-day child care program. In addition, their families must have income levels at or below 400 percent of the federal poverty level and applied for state and local child care subsidies. The family income requirement will not apply to school-age children in foster care needing child care.
The Department of Health and Human Services is working on a simplified process for families that are already enrolled in subsidy programs and for eligible families within the income guidelines that have not previously used state or local child care.
The Council staff report for this special appropriation can be viewed here.
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Release ID: 20-382