AMERICAN RECOVERY and REINVESTMENT ACT of 2009
Office of Early Learning
Child Care and Development Funds
FAST FACTS
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Overview
The School Readiness program provides financial resources to pay for quality child care for income eligible families so that parents can work or prepare for work. The program helps pay for full-day, year-round early learning and child care for children ages birth to five and after school care for older children. These services help families to become financially self-sufficient and prepare children for success in life by providing developmentally appropriate educational experiences.
Background
Early learning is an industry with multiple benefits that ripple throughout the economy. It creates jobs in early learning programs; contributes to the earnings and productivity of working parents; generates revenue in local economies; and ensures that young children, our future workforce, are able to succeed in school and life.
Stimulus Changes
- Florida is expected to receive $105 million for the School Readiness program.
- Priority for the use of these funds will be given to serve more than an estimated 20,000 slots for children of low-income families and must be spent by September 30, 2011.
- A minimum of $13 million of the additional funding shall be targeted for program quality improvement and improving the quality of infant and toddler care.
- There is no state match requirement, however the bill has specific language that funds “shall be used to supplement, not supplant State general revenue funds for child care assistance.”
The Agency and Florida’s 31 Early Learning Coalitions, which are responsible for implementing the School Readiness program, will prioritize the use of these additional funds to serve more children and families in the program, improve program quality and provide additional supports to child care providers. The Agency funding priorities will be focused on those activities and projects that support and strengthen the early learning infrastructure in the state. Priorities will also be focused on those that will enable the Agency to maintain quality services to eligible families and job seekers including: changes to the current information system for anticipated reporting provisions, child care professional development, business training for providers, curriculum development, and technology enhancements for providers.