Child Care Business Incentive Grant Program

Posted May 23, 2022
iowa city area child care workforce solutions
At a Glance

Your company has the opportunity to apply for grant money to fund a variety of child care options that are provided as a benefit to your staff.

When to apply: June 17th through July 18th
How to apply: View application guidelines.
Your Iowa City Area contact for support: Jennifer Banta at jennifer@iowacityarea.com

 

Child Care Business Incentive Grant Program Announced

Governor Reynolds has announced a new $25 million Child Care Business Incentive Grant Program targeted at helping employers offer or expand child care options as a benefit to their employees. A total of $20 million will be awarded to support local infrastructure investments to build or expand child care capacity. An additional $5 million will be used to support arrangements between employers and child care facilities to expand and reserve child care slots.

 

The Impact of this Grant Program

While Iowa is a national leader in the share of households with all parents working, 23 percent of Iowans live in a “child care desert.” Plus, Iowa has lost 33 percent of its child care businesses over the past five years. It’s estimated that Iowa’s child care shortage costs the State’s economy roughly $935 million annually in lost tax revenue, worker absences, and employee turnover.

 

An Opportunity for your Company

Have you been considering developing a facility or program to provide childcare to your staff? Apply to this grant program between June 17th and July 18th to take advantage of this special funding. The purpose of this grant program is to encourage employers to offer child care as a benefit to their employees. Projects could include the creation and development of an on-site child care center or a partnership with an existing child care center to create new child care slots paid for by a local employer.

 

We want to Help You Apply!

At the Iowa City Are Business Partnership, Jennifer Banta has been tackling the complex issue of child care shortage and cost. She’s a part of Gov. Reynolds Child Care Task Force and developed The Johnson County Child Care Coalition. The Johnson County Child Care Coalition has been meeting since 2019 to develop actionable initiatives to address access to affordable, high quality child care in Johnson County.

From Jennifer’s work, we know this issue directly impacts our workforce. So we want employers in the Iowa City Area to feel prepared and supported in applying for the Child Care Business Incentive Grant Program. If your company is interested in this grant, please reach out to Jennifer Banta at jennifer@iowacityarea.com. She is excited to work with employers in our community to take advantage of this opportunity.

 

If you don’t think this grant is right for you but still want to stay updated on child care opportunities and solutions, please email Jennifer Banta to connect. She looks forward to starting the conversation on how your company can improve child care options for your employees.