The Orange County Board of Supervisors has approved a new $5.1 million grant, bringing the total to $10.1 million benefiting child care programs
SANTA ANA, Calif. – November 18, 2020 – The Orange County Board of Supervisors has allocated an additional $5.1 million in CARES Act emergency funding to support licensed Orange County family child care homes and center-based child care programs — bringing the total to $10.1 million to help meet the profound need in the community.
Grant organizers received applications from 843 child care providers for the initial $5 million CARES Act grant, which allowed for only 350 applicants to receive funds. Now, with the influx of additional funds, it is possible for all 843 applicants to receive financial assistance.
“The large number of applicants serves as a testament to the struggle facing local providers due to challenges posed by the pandemic,” said First 5 Orange County President and Chief Executive Officer Kim Goll. “This money will help care providers keep their doors open and allow them to continue serving Orange County’s children and families but it does not solve the problems the industry was facing prior to the pandemic.”
In a recent survey of child care providers by First 5 Orange County, 63 percent said they would have to close within the next 6 months without additional assistance. As the recent Orange County Child Care Landscape Analysis points out, the pandemic has only deepened the crisis. Nearly half of Orange County’s child care providers closed their programs from mid-March to early June, and began reopening with new requirements and reduced capacities to maintain social distancing guidelines.
The survey also showed that 44 percent had to furlough or lay off staff, and all respondents reported additional funds are needed to remain open, including for staff salaries, cleaning supplies, and facility charges. Half of the survey respondents are minority-owned businesses.
The addition of $5.1 million, sponsored by Supervisor Doug Chaffee and Supervisor Andrew Do, will be distributed by Charitable Ventures to qualified early care and education providers in Orange County. Funds are being disbursed on a first-come, first-served basis to eligible licensed or licensed-exempt child care providers in Orange County to pay staff, purchase supplies, help cover mortgage and rental costs, business resilience and environmental improvements for children’s learning spaces. Grant organizers expect to award funds to hundreds of child care centers, family homes, and group care centers.
“We received incredibly high turnout in the number of applicants for the Orange County Child Care Funding Program, which underscores the need to support child care providers during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Supervisor Chaffee. “I’m pleased that the County of Orange is allocating another $5.1 million to meet the need of over 800 child care providers, including those who qualified but were not awarded in the first round of funding.”
Eligible providers will be notified and funding will begin to be processed on Nov. 19 and continue through Dec. 15 until all funds are expended. All funds must be spent on approved COVID-19 related expenses by Dec. 30, 2020.
Please visit www.first5oc.org/childcare for more information.
About First 5 Orange County Children and Families Commission
The First 5 Orange County Children and Families Commission oversees the allocation of funds from Proposition 10, which added a 50-cent tax on tobacco products sold in California. In fiscal year 2018/19, the Commission allocated more than $25 million to fund programs for young children. Children ages 0-5 received 2.8 million services. Funds help pay for early education, pediatric primary and specialty health care, children’s dental, homeless prevention, and child development programs for children from the prenatal stage to age 5 and their families. The Commission’s vision is that all young children reach their full potential. For more information, please visit www.first5oc.org.
About Charitable Ventures
Charitable Ventures launched in 2007 to encourage the growth of innovative regional nonprofits and to build the capacity of the nonprofit sector. As a regional incubator, Charitable Ventures has fiscally sponsored more than 60 community projects and regional initiatives since inception. In 2020, Charitable Ventures sponsored more than 35 community projects and several COVID-19 relief funds on track to raise between $20 and $23 million. Charitable Ventures was also the region’s Administrative Community Based Organization for the 2020 Census. Visit charitableventuresoc.org for more information.