By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
The Child Care Task for of Ellis County is accepting letters of intent for up to $2 million in state grant funds.
The task force, which met Tuesday, hopes to combine local applications for a Kansas Children's Child Care Capacity Accelerator grant.
Letters of intent will be due to the task force by noon April 10 and must be shovel-ready. See a press release below that further outlines the request for letters of intent.
James Robben, Grow Hays director of business development and special projects, said Grow Hays is interested in making an application for its Grove project.
The Grove will be a housing project at the corner of 27th and Canterbury in Hays. It will include a multi-purpose community center that will house a child care center.
Robben said the center could serve up to 77 children from infant to preschool. The slots would be open to the public. The project does not have a completion date. The state accelerator funds would have to be used between July 2024 and December 2025.
Robben said the Grove child care project could use the entire $2 million but would reduce its request to account for other Ellis County projects.
Space is also being renovated in the Hadley Center. The Hadley Center project likely would apply for funds to pay for a sprinkler system that is being added to space that is being remodeled for a child care center.
The Hadley project would be requesting $47,000 with a $10,000 additional alternate, Sarah Wasinger, task force facilitator, said.
Early Childhood Connections, which is part of Hays USD 489, is also adding a sprinkler system to a part of its building to allow it to open new classrooms. Donna Hudson-Hamilton, program director, said she might also apply for some of the capacity accelerator funds.
Andrew Cutright, who is on the board of Hays Area Children's Center, said the center might also apply for funds but was not specific about the project.
The task force is on a tight deadline because the grant application is due to the state by May 15.
The grant requires a 25 percent match, which would be paid by the grant requesters.
The task force also has applied for $45,000 through Kansas ChildCare Aware. These funds would be used to expand the capacity of Hays Area Children's Center and Learning Cross Child Care.
The grant would fund a salaried preschool teacher at Hays Area Children's Center. This would allow the center to add six more spots to its preschool program.
The grant also would help fund Learning Cross Child Care, which plans to open an infant and toddler program with a capacity of 37 slots.
Infant care is in the highest demand. Many centers do not provide infant care because one adult can only care for a few infants at a time.
Provider appreciation dinner
The task force is hosting a Child Care Provider Appreciation Dinner on May 11 at the Rose Garden Banquet Hall. The event is free for providers. The first 150 providers will receive a free swag bag.
Child Care providers can register at hayschamber.com/eventsor by calling 785-628-8201. Businesses who would like to support this event can also contact the Chamber.
The task force is seeking sponsors for the event or businesses that would like to contribute items to the swag bags or as raffle prizes.
Food service
The task force also has developed surveys for child care providers and food service providers about the possible creation of a child care food program.
A task force subcommittee met in early March to discuss the program.
-----
Kansas Children’s Cabinet Child Care Capacity Accelerator Grant application
Hays Chamber
The Child Care Task Force of Ellis County will be applying for the Kansas Children's Cabinet & Trust Fund Child Care Capacity Accelerator Community Grant by the deadline of May 15.
As each community is encouraged to write a singular grant that is supported by its local task force, the Child Care Task Force of Ellis County is seeking applications from local child care providers in the form of letters of intention. Child care providers that are in-home based or center-based may qualify for these funds.
Project proposals should be geared toward adding child care capacity for in-home or center-based providers. Providers are requested to carefully read through the request for proposals document to ensure their project can meet all of the qualifications for this program.
Letters of intent should specify what physical projects will be included for their portion of the application and must provide an estimated budget. Any submitted project must be shovel-ready, which means that funds will need to be spent from July 2024 through December 2025. This is a reimbursement-based grant to add capacity for children from birth to 5 years old.
Project proposals should be geared towards adding additional child care capacity for in-home or center-based providers. Providers are requested to carefully read through the request for proposals document to ensure their project can meet all the qualifications for this program.
Letters of intent should include a project narrative that addresses the following:
· Project Description: Detailed project description to include proposed numbers served.
• Project Need: Describe the need for the proposed project.
• Project Readiness: Describe the organization and its experience/expertise in child care. Describe involvement in community child care collaboration projects.
· Project Impact: Describe how your project will impact Ellis County child care. Describe how you will evaluate your project for success.
· Project Sustainability: Describe how you will address the sustainability, operations, staffing, oversight and quality improvement of your project.
· Project Budget: A detailed project budget is required. Outline how your project will meet the 25 percent cash match requirement.
In addition to project narrative, organizations must supply the attachments outlined in pages 11-13 of the grant request for proposal.
Once all letters of intention have been received, they will be reviewed by the Child Care Task Force of Ellis County for consideration to be included in the overall grant submission. Confirmation will be shared with providers if their proposals are included in the grant submission.
Projects approved by the task force will require an additional narrative to be submitted to the task force for each project and a detailed budget for how all funds will be spent. All providers will be required to provide their own reporting on grant fund utilization during the post-grant award process if Ellis County receives funds, including submitting receipts for services rendered and items purchased to fulfill the project.
The Request for Proposals document from the Kansas Children's Cabinet & Trust Fund and other important documents about this grant process is accessible via https://hayschamber.com/child-care-task-force-of-ellis-county.
Letters of intention are due to the Child Care Task Force by noon on Monday, April 10 to [email protected]. Questions may be addressed to that email address, via phone at 785-628-8201, or in person by appointment at 2700 Vine, Hays.