D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has announced an additional $2.8 million in emergency grants to help child care providers stay afloat during the coronavirus pandemic.
The grants will also include the implementation of a new Public Health Emergency Subsidy Rate to increase the daily, per-child payment rate for open subsidized child care providers.
“Protecting the District’s supply of high-quality child care is essential — for children, for families, and our local economy,” Bowser said in a statement. “Child care providers have been hit hard by the pandemic. These increased financial supports will help us maintain our progress toward building and expanding access to affordable, quality child care options for families.”
The $2.8 million is what remains of the District’s Child Care and Development Fund provision of Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act funds after paying all subsidized child care providers based on enrollment from the beginning of the pandemic through the end of the 2020 fiscal year, the mayor’s office said Friday.