CARSON CITY, NV 

Communities across Nevada will see an increase in availability of child care as construction and renovations begin for projects funded through Child Care Capital Expansion Grants.

“Child care providers do critical work every day for our families and for our economy statewide – this program will help them better serve their communities and build stronger early education centers,” said Governor Steve Sisolak. “Nevadans deserve the opportunity to go to work or get an education knowing their children are safe and have every opportunity to achieve.”

More than 2,000 new child care seats will be created at 18 child care centers through American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) grant-funded projects intended to strengthen Nevada’s child care industry and alleviate child care cost concerns for families and child care providers. The $30 million investment was announced by Governor Steve Sisolak in May as part of his $160 million child care plan.

The awarded funds will cover the initial investment in construction of new child care facilities and remodels/renovations of existing facilities that will expand their physical capacity. Among other factors, applications were scored based on geographic placement of new seats in child care deserts and the number of seats added by age group with a higher score being applied to proposals for new infant/toddler seats.

“Many Nevada families and communities need quality child care so they can go to work, attend job training, or finish their education,” said Karissa Loper Machado, Agency Manager for Child Care at the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services. “This short-term investment will create long-term access for Nevada families and shows Nevada is dedicated to supporting early childhood educators.”

The $30 million one-time investment from the State will be awarded across 18 child care organizations after a competitive grant application process. Grants will be awarded to:

• Community Chest, Inc. Mineral County; 50 seats; $977,000
• The Hills Preschool (B4HA) Clark County; 275 seats; $3.5 million
• Boys and Girls Club of Truckee Meadows White Pine County; 70 seats; $545,000
• Super Genius Kid Center (Universal Children Creations Art Academy, Inc.) Clark County; 300 seats; $6 million
• Children's Learn and Play, LLC Clark County; 175 seats; $3.2 million
• Foundation for Positively Kids Clark County; 170 seats dedicated for Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs; $2.5 million
• Kiddie Academy of South Reno (Ethereal Holdings, Inc.) Washoe County; 174 seats; $788,000
• Kids R Us Hippity Hop Learning Center Washoe County; 46 seats; $834,000
• Alphabet Academy Washoe County; 78 seats; $992,000
• Little Hands Learning Center Washoe County; 130 seats; $900,000
• Small Strides, Inc. Washoe County; 154 seats; $785,000
• Little Steps Early Learning Academy, LLC Clark County; 150 seats; $3.1 million
• Kiddie Academy of Henderson (Jerrico Holdings, LLC) Clark County; 215 seats; $1.7 million
• Shenker Academy (Temple Sinai) of Las Vegas Clark County; 55 seats; $700,000
• Little Timbers Academy Carson City; 133 seats; $910,000
• Our Second Home Daycare, LLC Lyon County; 175 seats; $217,000
• Community Chest, Inc. Storey County; 50 seats; $989,000
• Under the Magic Pine Tree (Timberhouse, LLC) Douglas County; 40 seats; $996,000

In addition to the expansion grants, child care funding has been allocated to lower the cost of child care for families. The Interim Finance Committee approved $50 million to expand funding for the State’s Child Care and Development Program. The Nevada Child Care Fund will lower the amount paid out of pocket for eligible families, as well as expand the income eligibility threshold for the child care assistance program. For information on how to apply go to the Parent Resources page at NevadaChildCare.org.

The other $80 million has been directed to the Division of Welfare and Supportive Services (DWSS) for direct assistance to child care providers, including support for the child care hubs for providers in Northern and Southern Nevada, capacity building for home-based providers, contracted slots to expand programs to meet the needs of communities, and other efforts related to staffing and provider support.

###

About the Child Care Capital Expansion Grant:

The Nevada Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) created the Child Care Capital Expansion Grant using funding from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF). Entities invited to apply for this grant opportunity included licensed child care providers in good standing and with a capacity of at least 13 children, Tribal child care providers, and service providers contracted with the Aging and Disability Services Division to provide services to children with special health care needs. The application review committee included seven (7) subject-matter experts representing the Child Care and Development Program, a Tribal Liaison, both Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies, Child Care Licensing, the Silver State Stars Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS), and Child Care Providers. The Review Committee scored applications based on criteria which included geographic placement of new seats in child care deserts, the financial risk profile of the provider, and the number of seats added by age group with a higher score being applied to proposals for new infant/toddler seats.

Original source can be found here.