The new COVID-19 stimulus package from Congress includes some relief for child care providers. See below for a great synopsis of the bill from our colleagues at the First Five Years Fund.

Late last night, the Senate passed a sweeping economic stimulus bill to provide relief to America’s families, small businesses, and major industries as they struggle with the effects of the COVID-19 crisis. Included in the package is significant financial and regulatory relief for the nation’s child care industry, which has been hit with widespread layoffs and closures as a result of catastrophic drops in enrollment.

While just the first step, it is our hope that the support contained in this package will go a long way toward helping the hardworking Americans who are struggling as a result of this horrible pandemic – including child care providers.

Over the course of the last many days, lawmakers on Capitol Hill received over 65,000 emails from concerned constituents through FFYF’s online action campaign, urging them to consider the needs of the child care industry in the economic stimulus package. Thank you to those of you who lent your voices to this important effort!

Once the bill is passed by the House and signed into law, FFYF will get straight to work with our partners to ensure the nation’s child care businesses have the information and resources they need to begin taking advantage of the relief provided by Congress today, so that quality child care remains available for working families now and into the future.

In the meantime, here’s some of what was included in the stimulus package, known as the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act – or CARES Act, to help stabilize the child care industry:

  • $3.5 billion in grants to states through the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) Program for immediate assistance to child care providers to prevent them from going out of business and to otherwise support child care for families, including for healthcare workers, first responders, and others playing critical roles during this crisis.
  • $750 million for grants to all Head Start programs to help them respond to coronavirus-related needs of children and families, including making up for lost learning time.
  • Both for-profit & non-profit child care businesses with less than 500 employees will be eligible to apply for small business loans of up to $10 million, of which 8 weeks of monthly payroll, mortgage/rent, and utility payments will be eligible for forgiveness.
  • And more.