Two Cedar Rapids child care projects receive state grants
Summary
We will now advance efforts with a more formal assessment of the viability of this offering.To The Rescue plans to use a $2.5 million grant from the program to build a child care facility in the Cedar Rapids area that would serve children throughout Linn County, as seven cities in the county are in a child care desert. In total, the funding from Iowa Workforce Development (IWD) and the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will involve 67 employers and is expected to create nearly 1,786 child care slots.Iowa businesses know that access to quality child care is a major factor in employees ability to work, Gov. Our focus moving forward must remain on addressing these specific types of barriers to provide options for families and create an environment where the local workforce can thrive.These grants support Iowas investment in quality child care options and strengthen parents ability to provide for their families while gaining the benefits of early learning for their children, said Iowa Department of Health and Human Services Director Kelly Garcia. As a working mom who still has a child in care, I see first-hand the advantage children who engage in early learning have and deeply understand the need for additional access in our State. Applications are now being accepted at https://www.futurereadyiowa.gov/child-care-grants and are due Oct. 17.To date, the state of Iowa has awarded 191 projects with approximately $75.6 million in grant funding to help create over 10,700 new child care slots.