State of Alaska Announces Additional Funding for Child Care Programs

June 19, 2020

Traducción Española

Broadcast from the CCPO on 6/19/20

The Child Care Program Office (CCPO) is providing this update to the broadcasts issued on April 8, 2020, and April 13, 2020, regarding the capacity-building
funding payments made to providers for March through May of this year.

As stated in the April 8 broadcast, those initial payments were intended to last as long as they were available. The CCPO received approximately $6.4 million
from the CARES Act through the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) dedicated specifically for child care assistance, which along with $2.6
million in State of Alaska CARES Act funds has already been disbursed to providers to cover March 2020 expenses. At this time there are no additional
dedicated federal dollars available to assist with capacity building.

However, through other State of Alaska CARES Act funding, the CCPO has been allotted an additional $10.5 million to be distributed to offset a portion
of lost revenue for the months of April and May for children who are not eligible for child care assistance. The $10.5 million is for April and May
together, not for each month.

To distribute this amount as equitably as possible for children who are not eligible for child care assistance, the CCPO will pay providers according to
the following plan:

  • The CCPO will pay providers for the private pay sources of revenue loss they have experienced as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, using a provider’s
    license capacity multiplied by a flat rate.
  • If a provider was open at any time during the month of April and/or May, the flat rate per child will be $400. If a provider was closed for the entire
    month of April and/or May, the flat rate per child will be $200, regardless of attendance.
  • The child care assistance funds that providers are currently eligible for will continue to be paid going forward.
  • All licensed providers will receive a payment based on their licensed capacity for April and May. There is no need for any additional documentation
    to be submitted to the CCPO office.

Using this methodology will allow the CCPO to process April and May payments more quickly because the methodology can be applied to the information providers
have already submitted in their Requests for Payment.

This is one-time funding using State of Alaska CARES dollars. The CCPO has issued 100% of federal capacity grants from the Administration for Children
and Families (ACF) and does not anticipate any additional payments to assist in capacity building. The CCPO recognizes that many businesses are starting
to re-open or operate back at their full license capacity. In addition to these additional capacity dollars, providers are encouraged to apply for
relief funds through your local municipalities, non-profit relief through the Alaska Community Foundation, and through the AK CARES grant program.

If you have questions, please contact the CCPO at [email protected]