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The Center for Retention & Expansion of Child Care is celebrating a boost in Skagit County child care capacity after a year of working to reverse the pandemic’s impacts, which closed down 20 child care programs and cost an estimated 22% of the County’s child care slots.

In an exciting grant opportunity, C-RECC is using federal American Rescue Plan Act grant funds to restore access to affordable, equitable, high quality and culturally relevant child care. These funds were identified for distribution thanks to Skagit County and the Population Health Trust Advisory Committee.

Families interested in starting an in-home family child care business can learn more at http://www.ccanorthwest.org/skagit_county_arpa_information.

Low-income, non-English-speaking, under-served, BIPOC and/or rural families are especially encouraged to apply.

The goal is to start at least 10 new FCCs by the end of 2024. C-RECC has already helped start five (each offers Spanish-speaking/bilingual care). C-RECC’s outreach continues toward the goal of assisting five more families in the next year. C-RECC will also offer business coaching and other resources to each grant recipient.

ARPA funding is also available for Skagit County businesses who want to support their employees by creating a child care center in or near their facility. Businesses interested in partnerships are welcome to reach out to [email protected] for more information.

Source: C-RECC