Corona Virus Relief Grants Available For Those Need Of Home Care & Child Care

Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, Supporting Montana’s Families School-aged Child Care Grant - $30 million available.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, organizations are offering programs for school age children to meet the needs of working parents, and children affected during out of school time. Grants are available to organizations who are providing out of school time programs. Eligible programs are for-profit business, non-profit organizations, school/school districts, community organizations, summer camps, and licensed childcare programs that serve children aged 5 to 18 in out of school time programming during the COVID-19 pandemic. The grant is based on the average daily attendance at a $1000 per child, per month rate. Programs must demonstrate how they will serve at least 25% low-income children. Funds can be used to support additional costs associated with meeting health and safety needs and reduced revenue due to COVID-19 emergency.

Applications at https://commerce.mt.gov/Coronavirus-Relief

In Home Care Grant for Families – $10 million available The scholarship is available for families with children aged 0-18 who face special circumstances that make group settings inappropriate solutions. The scholarship aims to provide opportunity for families that include children or family members with special needs which may include health or safety needs requiring in-home care. This may also include foster families and kinship families with unique in-home needs. It might include families in rural areas that lack group care programs or families that have unusual schedules making group care difficult or impossible to find. These grants are not available just because school is not in session hours/days it has been in the past. It may not be used to pay for care in a family/group child care because it is for kids who cannot go to group settings. Grants are not income based. Applications will be sent to and determinations made by the region Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies (CCR&R). If it is sent to the wrong R&R, we’ll forward it to the correct organization. R&Rs are able to turn these applications around much faster than the state.

Application and information at https://dphhs.mt.gov/hcsd/ChildCare/ChildCareResourceandReferral

Additionally, another $8 million will be invested in grants to all licensed child care facilities to help sustain this necessary industry that supports the economy. No application required unless it is a new facility that has not previously received a CARES Act grant. CCR&Rs will reach out to new programs and distribute the application. We expect this money to redistributed sometime in September.

Other Grants are available at this link here: https://www.covidreliefmt.org/submit

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