On April 6, the Office of Child Care provided guidance on the use of CARES funds for addressing COVID-19. You can access their full guidance in the Summary of Child Care Provisions of Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act or “CARES Act” online at https://www.acf.hhs.gov/occ/resource/summary-of-child-care-provisions-of-cares-act.
NICCA has updated our estimates for individual allocations. Scroll down to find them.
Key takeaways regarding CARES Act Funds for Child Care
Will be provided to State, Territory, and Tribal Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) Lead Agencies;
May be used to provide continued payments and assistance to child care providers in the case of decreased enrollment or closures related to coronavirus, and to assure they are able to remain open or reopen;
Can be used to provide child care assistance to health care sector employees, emergency responders, sanitation workers, and other workers deemed essential during the response to the coronavirus, without regard to the income eligibility requirements;
Shall be available to eligible CCDF providers (e.g., meeting health and safety requirements, or eligible relative providers), even if such providers were not receiving CCDF assistance prior to the public health emergency as a result of the coronavirus, for the purposes of cleaning and sanitation, and other activities necessary to maintain or resume the operation of programs;
May be used for any other allowable CCDF uses;
Are exempted from the quality and direct services spending requirements;
Can be used for allowable obligations incurred prior to enactment of the CARES Act; and
Can be obligated by CCDF Lead Agencies in Fiscal Year (FY) 2020, FY 2021, or FY 2022.
Tribal Allocation Estimates
NICCA has estimated the Tribal allocations which can be viewed here.* This is updated from this official OCC guidance and is only an estimation.
Contact Us
As always, please reach out to us if you have any specific needs -- we do not have supplies to give, but we are trying to connect people to options as we learn about them.
You can also still share your story online. This helps us tell our federal leaders what is needed for child care in Indian Country.
*Updated 4/14/2020