CARES Scholarship
Govenor Cuomo Announces $30 Million in Child Care Scholarships for Essential Workers and Supplies for Child Care Providers!
The Governor also announced that New York State will provide child care scholarships to essential workers. Essential workers include first responders such as health care providers, pharmaceutical staff, law enforcement, firefighters, food delivery workers, grocery store employees and others who are needed to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. Child care costs will be covered with $30 million in federal CARES Act funding for essential staff whose income is less than 300 percent of the federal poverty level - or $78,600 for a family of four - and will be paid at market rate for each region statewide. Essential workers can use the funding to pay for their existing care arrangement. If an essential worker needs child care, they can contact their local child care resource and referral agency to find openings.
Are you an employee of an essential business and need child care so you can go to work?
There is a good chance you can get it at NO cost to you!
The Child Care Council of Dutchess and Putnam, Inc. and The Early Care & Learning Council (ECLC) applaud the action of the Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) and the Cuomo Administration in developing a plan to provide child care to essential workers at no cost to the worker. This allocation of funding comes to the state from the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the "CARES Act"), which has provided our state with $163.6 million in emergency relief to the child care system.
Our state is using a portion of this funding to provide child care for essential workers, at no cost to the worker. This program will support essential workers who are required to work outside of the home. Essential workers using a licensed or registered child care provider will receive a scholarship for the cost of care through May 1st, 2020. All licensed and registered providers who are caring for the children of essential workers are able to participate in this new program. The CARES Child Care Scholarship will be available as long as the funds to support it are available.
Once you complete and submit the online application, you will be contacted by a referral specialist to review your application. You will need to submit a letter to The Child Care Council from your employer stating that you are an essential worker that cannot work from home. If you are currently receiving a child care subsidy, you will need to submit an additional letter stating your co-pay amount from the Department of Social Services.
Your application AND the supplemental letters will complete your application. At that point, we can determine your eligibility.
The Child Care Council of Dutchess and Putnam, Inc. and The Early Care & Learning Council (ECLC) are excited to announce that New York is using part of the CARES Act to provide child care for essential workers, at no cost to the worker. The CARES Child Care Scholarship will be available as long as the funds to support it are available. All licensed and registered providers who are caring for essential workers are able to participate in the CARES Scholarship program.
The Program Information Profile is an application to be able to accept CARES Scholarship recipients and payments from The Child Care Council of Dutchess and Putnam, Inc. to care for those children. Completing this application is not a guarantee that additional children will be added to your enrollment. After completion of the Program Information Profile, you will be contacted by CCCDP with further information about how you can participate in the program.
Thank you for being essential workers yourselves and working tirelessly during this time of uncertainty to care for children in your community.
We deeply appreciate you!
