Child Care Grant Program

The Child Care Grant Program is a State of Alaska program designed to enhance the quality of child care by providing monthly cash grant support to licensed child care providers. Based on the materials provided, the program is administered through the Child Care Program Office within the Division of Public Assistance. The program is tied closely to Alaska's child care regulatory and assistance systems, and participation is limited to providers that are both properly licensed and approved to participate in the Child Care Assistance Program. The application form and terms and conditions show that this is not a one-time discretionary award competition, but an ongoing participation-based grant and reimbursement program that supports the continued operation and quality improvement of eligible facilities. The purpose of the program is clearly stated as improving the quality of child care in Alaska by supplementing participating providers with monthly grant funds. The source materials identify the main categories of allowable spending. Funds may be used for staff salaries, wages, and benefits, substitute care providers, health and safety related items, supplies and equipment for children in care, activities for children in care, and education and training related to child development. The terms and conditions page further frames these uses as costs associated with maintaining the operation of the facility, which indicates that the grant is intended to strengthen day-to-day service quality and operational stability rather than support unrelated expansion or non-programmatic activities. Eligibility is limited and program specific. To qualify, an applicant must possess a license to operate a child care facility in the State of Alaska issued either by the Alaska Department of Health or by the Municipality of Anchorage. In addition, the provider must be approved for participation in the Child Care Assistance Program. The terms and conditions add an ongoing participation threshold: the provider must maintain at least the minimum participation requirement for children in care of five percent or one child, whichever is greater, who have been issued an authorization through the State of Alaska Child Care Assistance Program within any six month period. Authorizations issued by the Office of Children's Services for children in protective services or foster care also count toward this requirement. The materials also note that the biological, step, adopted, or foster children of the owner may not be included on the Child Care Grant Attendance Report. The sign-up and participation process is straightforward but compliance heavy. Interested licensed child care providers or facilities are directed to complete the Child Care Grant Program Application CC30. The application may be completed and signed by the facility owner, or by the administrator if authorized under the program rules. If the administrator signs and later changes, an updated application must be submitted for continued participation. The form collects facility and ownership information, identifies any owner children enrolled at the facility, and allows the owner or administrator to grant or remove limited signatory authority for reimbursement forms. The application also requires a signed statement of truth and agreement to comply with the program's terms and conditions. If the owner and administrator are different and both have authority for program participation, both must sign in the circumstances described in the form. Participation carries recurring reporting and documentation duties. Providers must complete and submit the Child Care Grant Attendance Report Form CC14 and the Child Care Grant Reimbursement Request CC15 so that they are received by the Child Care Program Office no later than the last day of the month following the report month. Reimbursement support documentation must include one or more of the following: legible copies of receipts for allowable purchases made during the report month, and or a completed and signed Reimbursement Request for Staff Salaries and Benefits or Substitute Care Form CC31. Participants must maintain all Child Care Grant related records for at least three years from the fiscal year in which each record was created, must allow program representatives access to the facility and or records as needed for compliance review, and must notify the Child Care Program Office of changes affecting the information in the application, licensing status, Child Care Assistance Program eligibility, business closure, location, ownership, or eligibility for funds. No competitive scoring criteria, total funding pool, award floor, award ceiling, matching requirement, or fixed program deadline are stated in the provided materials. Instead, the available information supports treating the program as an open participation opportunity for qualified providers, with monthly reimbursement activity occurring after enrollment. The source does not name an award notification schedule or performance period in standard grant competition terms, but the monthly reporting and reimbursement structure indicates an ongoing cycle of participation rather than a single award date. The application form identifies the Child Care Program Office, Division of Public Assistance, at 3601 C Street, Suite 140, Anchorage, Alaska 99503 as the program office associated with the application, and the linked application PDF serves as the primary submission resource provided in the materials.

Maintain CCAP eligibility and the minimum participation threshold of five percent or one child within any six month period; use funds only for allowable child care quality and operating costs; do not include the owner's biological, step, adopted, or foster children on the attendance report; submit CC14 and CC15 on time with receipts and or CC31; retain all program records for at least three years and promptly report changes in licensing, ownership, location, or eligibility.