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ECCLA Awards $160,000 to Family Child Care Homes in 2020

The Family Child Care Home Facilities Improvement Initiative (FCCHI) administered by the Early Childhood Council Leadership Alliance (ECCLA) offers grants to licensed home-based child care providers in Colorado. This funding opportunity is intended to help family child care homes start-up, expand, or maintain consistent operations, increase capacity, and reduce the number of family child care homes closing their doors.

According to a recent report, between 2002 and 2018, licensed family child care homes in Colorado have reduced their capacity by 11,600 slots. While this decrease is consistent with national trends, Colorado exceeds the national average in the rate of overall decline. FCCHI is aligned with a report recommendation to “provide grants to prospective and existing family child care home providers and centers serving infants in high-risk communities, child care deserts, and/or those providing non-traditional hours.”

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In 2020, ECCLA awarded $160,000 in grants to 45 family child care homes across Colorado for facilities improvement. With limited funding available, ECCLA directed attention to supporting family child care providers with significant health and safety licensing concerns and those with the desire to start-up. In total, 189 applications were received across two separate grant rounds with family child care providers requesting $855,000. Due to COVID-19, the needs among family child care providers continue to increase as more families seek home-based learning environments.

Overall, the grants impacted 328 children across 28 counties in Colorado, resulting in a 47% increase in capacity among those awarded. Most importantly, 60% of awards supported family child care homes in child care deserts where access to quality child care is often limited or absent.

ECCLA will continue to offer grant opportunities for family child care providers during 2021. Applications for funding requests are due by March 29, 2021, 11:59 pm. Interested applicants can register for a webinar, download the application, and review frequently asked questions at www.ecclacolorado.org/fcchgrant. New this year, ECCLA is offering a convenient online application and Spanish application!

View a list of the 2020 FCCHI grant recipients and download the 2020 impact report.

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