Application Guide: Funding
Introduction
Eligibility
Apply
Scoring, Funding, and Reporting
What Funding Is Available?
While there is one single application that providers will need to complete, eligible businesses (home- and center-based child care businesses meeting the previously described criteria) may be eligible to receive two different awards: 1) Start-up Awards and 2) Initial Operating Awards.
Child care businesses that have not yet received their new or modified license to open or expand their child care business will be eligible to apply for Start-up Award funding*, to help offset operational costs associated with preparing to open or expand their child care business. After receiving their permit, these businesses may also be eligible for Initial Operating Award funding to help cover initial operating expenses (described next).
*Note: Home-based child care businesses that are converting existing child care slots to infant slots may not require a modified license as part of their expansion program. In these cases, providers will note the date of their expansion in their Infant Care Attestation to determine award eligibility.
Start-up Award Eligibility
Child Care businesses that have already received their new or modified license will be eligible for Initial Operating Award funding to cover costs incurred during the first few months of operations. Providers who received Start-up Award funding will be eligible to receive Initial Operating Award funding once they receive their new or modified permit. However, the receipt of a start-up award is not a pre-requisite for funding for an initial operating award, and providers may receive the Initial Operating Award only based on their own timeline.
Providers who received their new or modified permit before March 1, 2022 are not eligible to apply for funding.
How are the Awards Calculated?
Start-up and Initial Operating Awards are calculated in different ways:
Start-up Awards
These are awards for eligible new businesses or expansions in which providers have not yet received their new or expanded license at the time of application. The child care desert and employer partnership award amounts are fixed based on the program type and the number of new licensed capacity slots being created by the opening or expansion of the child care business.
Programs that are expanding infant capacity will receive $2,000 per infant slot created.
| Start-up Awards (Child Care Deserts and Employer Partnerships) | ||
| Type of Program | Increased Capacity (new slots only) | Amount |
| Licensed Center |
101 or more | $75,000 |
| 75-100 | $60,000 | |
| 50-74 | $45,000 | |
| 25-49 | $30,000 | |
| 0-24 | $15,000 | |
| Licensed Home | Up to 12 | $8,000 |
| Registered Home | Up to 4 | $4,000 |
| Start-Up Awards (Infant Care) | ||
| $2,000 / new infant slot* | ||
| *Start-Up Awards for Infant Care can be combined with the Start-up Award amounts shown above, if expanding in a child care desert or with an employer partnership | ||
For Start-Up Award funding, providers located within child care deserts or operating in partnership with an employer can receive add-on funding amounts if they are also increasing their overall capacity to provide infant care. For example, a listed home provider becoming a registered home provider to care for 4 children within a child care desert after the date of application would receive $4,000 of Start-Up Award funding. If this provider were to dedicate all 4 of these child care slots to infant care, the provider would also receive $8,000 (4 infant slots x$2,000 each) for a total of $12,000.
Initial Operating Awards:
Providers are eligible for these awards once the provider has received their new or modified permit from CCR. The award amounts are based on new slots created and the type of care being created. The intent of this funding is to help cover the first three months of operational expenses for your new or expanded program or classroom. Providers creating new capacity in child care deserts or in partnership with an employer will receive funding based on the 75th percentile of the average daily market rate for all ages while those creating infant care will receive funding at the rate for infants.
| Initial Operating Award | |
| Child Care Desert and Employer Site-Based Initial Operating Awards | New Provider capacity x Market Rate Survey 75th Percentile Average Daily Market Rate for All Ages x 3 months (63 days) |
| Child Care Infant Initial Operating Award | New Infant Capacity x Market Rate Survey 75th Percentile Average Market Daily Rate for Infants x 3 months (63 days) |
Providers in deserts or partnerships who are only increasing capacity to serve infants will have their Initial Operating Award calculated at the 75th percentile of the average daily rate for infants. Those in deserts or partnerships who are adding capacity for both non-infant AND infant slots will have their Initial Operating Award amount calculated at the 75th percentile of the average daily rate for all ages using the total new capacity created. Applicants must provide their new or modified HHSC CCR permit to be eligible for Initial Operating Award Funding. In cases where a modified license is not required for expansion, applicants will complete an attestation outlining their expansion details.
Please see the Child Care Provider Expansion Initiative Award Estimate calculator for more information. NOTE: Aware amounts are only estimates. Actual award amounts will be calculated during the application review process.
Understand Allowable Use of Award Funds:
Funding can be used toward allowable costs incurred between March 1, 2022 and 6 months after the date of your last received award. Start-Up and Initial Operating Awards are intended to support initial costs of opening a new program or expanding an existing program, including, but not limited to:
- Regular monthly rent or mortgage payment and utility bills of your secured location (down payments, security deposits, and other 1-time payments associated with securing a location are not permitted);
- Indoor equipment and furnishings (e.g., cribs, changing tables, bookshelves, chairs, tables, and rugs)
- Office furnishings and equipment (e.g., desks, chairs, filing cabinets, computers, software, and printers)
- Outdoor equipment (e.g., playgrounds, shade structures, toys, balls, fencing, and infant strollers)
- Kitchen supplies (e.g., appliances, cookware, and serving items), excluding food
- Safety supplies (e.g., fire extinguishers, smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors, baby gates, outlet covers, and secure entry systems)
- Education supplies/classroom materials (e.g., curriculum, books, and toys)
- Permitting fees, for example for HHSC CCR or as related to inspections
- Staffing costs to support program operation while ramping up to full or expanded enrollment
- Outreach costs associated with recruitment of families and staff
- Minor renovations (e.g., exterior or interior painting, lighting/plumbing/kitchen fixtures, trim work/minor carpentry, flooring replacement, and HVAC improvements)*
*Construction of new facilities and major renovations are prohibited with this funding. The prohibition on using this award for construction or major renovations is due to the federal source of the funding for this initiative. Major renovation is defined as: (1) structural changes to the foundation, roof, floor, exterior, or load-bearing walls of a facility, or the extension of a facility to increase its floor area; or (2) extensive alteration of a facility such as to significantly change its function and purpose, even if such renovation does not include any structural changes.