[ST. PAUL, MN] – Governor Tim Walz and Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan announced today that over $6 million in Child Care Economic Development Grants – the state's largest-ever round of these grants – are now open. These grants are aimed at expanding access to child care and meeting the needs of working families.

The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) is also launching a new office to coordinate the efforts of state government, communities, businesses, and non-profit organizations that are working to provide child care in Minnesota.

"Affordable, accessible child care allows Minnesotans to work and allows our economy to thrive," said Governor Walz. "With the largest-ever round of child care grants, we're ramping up our efforts to increase child care slots and invest in our child care providers and middleclass families across the state."

"As a mom and a lifelong child advocate, I know child care isn't a nice to have – it's a need to have. Affordable, accessible child care should be available to every family who needs it, and we're working to make that a reality in Minnesota," said Lieutenant Governor Flanagan. "We took action to expand affordable, quality child care to make sure our child care providers and working families have the support they need to thrive."

"Accessible, quality child care is critical, not only for strong child development, but also the economic stability of families and communities and the future growth of our workforce" said DEED Commissioner Matt Varilek. "Through our new Office of Child Care Community Partnerships, we're helping child care businesses access the support they need to succeed. With our Child Care Economic Development Grants, we're aiming to create more child care slots so families have better access to the high-quality, affordable child care they deserve."

DEED's largest-ever Child Care Economic Development Grant round

DEED is issuing a Request for Proposals (RFP) for Child Care Economic Development grants for local units of government and other eligible communities and non-profit organizations to create new child care slots to meet the needs of working families. This program provides funding to communities to invest in new or expanding child care businesses, including facility improvements, worker training, attraction, retention, and licensing, among other strategies to reduce the child care shortage.

This round of Child Care Economic Development grants will be the largest so far at $6.2 million —nearly as much as has been distributed during all previous such grant rounds combined. Grants will be available up to $600,000, which DEED expects to deliver to dozens of communities across Minnesota, impacting thousands of the new child care slots in communities in which access is needed most.

Since 2017, DEED has issued more than $6.5 million in Child Care Economic Development grants to 56 local governments and non-profit organizations across the state, helping create up to 9,300 child care slots.

DEED will issue a second grant round, also worth $6.2 million, later this year.

Minnesota communities or organizations interested in submitting a proposal for a Child Care Economic Development grant are invited to attend a virtual informational meeting on Feb. 8 at 11 a.m. The RFP application and additional information can be found here.

Launching the new Office of Child Care Community Partnerships

DEED's new Office of Child Care Community Partnerships will provide leadership, leverage existing community relationships and coordinate small business assistance, economic development grants, labor data, and other DEED resources to increase access to child care.

The office will serve as a front door for communities, businesses, and other organizations that provide child care by communicating about existing child care programs at DEED, planning for future opportunities to address the child care shortage and coordinating with other state agencies and offices that oversee or fund child care and early education, including the Department of Human Services and the Department of Education.

"DEED's new Office of Child Care Community Partnerships will work with local units of government, organizations and employers to help find solutions that work best for each community," said DEED Director of Child Care Community Partnerships Tammy Wickstrom, who will lead the office. "I think of the Office as a hub for communities, businesses, providers and non-profit organizations focused on working together to provide more affordable, quality child care in their areas of Minnesota."

"DEED's Office of Child Care Community Partnerships elevates the visibility of child care as an economic and workforce development issue, and our team is excited by this new opportunity for strengthened partnership within community." said Erin Bailey, Executive Director of the Governor's Children's Cabinet. "This new office brings unique expertise and value to the other interagency child care and early education efforts already in place."

The Office of Child Care Community Partnerships will administer DEED's Child Care Economic Development Grants, as well as direct appropriation funding to Minnesota Initiative Foundations and Women Venture, which are working to address the child care shortage statewide. The office will also oversee DEED's new Greater Minnesota Child Care Facility Grants, which DEED will soon launch for communities or non-profit child care providers to build or expand child care facilities.

Those interested in learning more about the Office of Child Care Community Partnerships can find out more about the office and what it does by visiting mn.gov/deed/childcare.