5/15/2024 1:39:36 PM
[ST. PAUL, MN] – Governor Tim Walz today announced $6.2 million in new grants to expand child care across the state. The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) has awarded 21 organizations with Child Care Economic Development Grants – the state's largest-ever round of funding for this program. The funding is expected to increase child care program capacity by 2,241 slots.
"Making Minnesota the best state for children and families starts with child care," said Governor Walz. "Accessible, quality child care is critical not only for strong child development, but also for the economic wellbeing of the families in our state. These grants will increase access to child care and help more Minnesotans enter the workforce, growing our labor force and economy."
"Child care businesses and professionals are essential to our economy – they're the workforce behind the workforce," said Lieutenant Governor Flanagan. "I'm proud of the historic investments we made in child care last session and our continued efforts to build on these wins. We want to ensure families across the state have access to high quality, affordable child care and that child care businesses have the supports they need to succeed."
DEED's Child Care Economic Development Grant program provides funding to communities to invest in new or expanding child care businesses, including facility improvements, worker training, attraction, retention and licensing, and other strategies to reduce the child care shortage. The program is administered by the Office of Child Care Community Partnerships, a new DEED office to coordinate the efforts of state government, communities, businesses, and non-profit organizations that are working to provide child care.
WalletHub recently ranked Minnesota a top-five state for moms, due in part to high rankings for child care.
"We regularly hear from businesses and communities of all sizes throughout the state about the need for accessible, affordable child care – it's key to their success and stability because child care removes one barrier parents and guardians of young children face in the workforce," said DEED Commissioner Matt Varilek. "Through today's new investments in child care we're delivering for more families and communities around Minnesota."
"The Child Care Economic Development grants are community-driven to provide unique solutions for each community or region," said Director of Child Care Community Partnerships Tammy Wickstrom. "We're excited to work with our partners around Minnesota to expand child care access to more families."
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. DEED will issue a second grant round, also worth $6.2 million, later this year.
Fifteen of the grants announced today are going to Greater Minnesota, where child care needs are most acute.
"Access to quality child care is a fundamental community asset that is essential for the well-being of not just our families, but for the economic health of our region and state," said Northland Foundation President Tony Sertich. "We leveraged our previous DEED grant to support 12 licensed child program startup and expansion projects including the development and renovation of a new center in Floodwood that will serve 69 children. This resulted in 459 new slots being opened: 81 infant, 90 toddler, 199 preschool and nine school age. We are grateful for the support DEED has given to support the growth of child care availability in Northeast Minnesota and are thrilled with this opportunity to continue our results-driven work with a new round of funding."
Brainerd Family YMCA, a 2022 Child Care Economic Development grantee, used its funding to purchase a 7,500-square-foot building and renovate it into a center licensed to serve 24 infants and 42 toddlers.
"At the Y, we are committed to youth development, healthy living, and social responsibility. Our ability to develop strong, healthy, and resilient youth is reliant on having access to the space to run programs, including affordable and quality day care. Our community has consistently identified the child care supply as one of the top critical issues that parents and employers face," said Shane Riffle, CEO of the Brainerd Family YMCA. "While not a complete community solution, it is a step forward and highlights a successful model which can be replicated. This would not have been possible without the initial funding from DEED to acquire the footprint."
The following organizations were awarded Child Care Economic Development Grants in this funding round:
Economic Development
