ITEM TITLE:
Approval of Revised Child Care Start Up and Operating Grant Programs and INNOVATION Grant Expense Categories
SUBMITTED BY: Martha Barberio, Economic Development Director
FISCAL NOTES:
Expenditure Required: N/A
Unencumbered Balance: N/A
Funding Source: N/A
RECOMMENDATION:
Approve revision of child care start up and operating grant programs and INNOVATION grant expense categories.
SUMMARY STATEMENT:
In response to the community’s ongoing child care needs and the success of the City’s investment through the 2024 Community INNOVATION Grant, administered by thread, the City of Valdez launched local Child Care Start-Up and Operating Grant Programs to encourage the creation and sustainability of licensed providers.
To ensure this program remains flexible and responsive to local needs, and that funds are expended before the grant deadline of December 31, 2025, administration proposes the following revisions:
Remove monetary cap from the Start-Up Grant Program
• Current policy: Start-up grants are capped at $50,000 per recipient.
• Revision: Eliminate the cap and allow award amounts to be determined based on demonstrated need, scale of service, and availability of funding.
o Removing the cap allows more meaningful support for providers incurring high upfront costs (e.g., facility renovations, licensing compliance) and aligns with community need and economic development goals.
Eliminate select qualifying restrictions on Operating Grant recipients
• Current policy: Operating grant eligibility includes specific financial or enrollment thresholds.
• Revision: Remove restrictive qualifiers to expand eligibility for sustainable providers.
Add “legally exempt” childcare providers as eligible applicants
• Revision: Update the eligibility language to include legally exempt providers operating within the bounds of state law.
• Legally exempt programs include tribal, Head Start and Department of Defense programs and play an important role in the child care ecosystem.
• Providing additional support for the creation of these programs in Valdez is an appropriate use of grant funds.
Additionally, due to the constraints of the Community INNOVATION Grant and limited applicants, administration proposes to reallocate potentially unusable funds to the “Renovation and Design” budget category. This category was proposed at $300,000 but was unfunded at the time of grant award. Updated grant guidance provided by thread staff indicates that design work is a qualifying grant expense. $238,000 will be used for the design of the childcare center at the old district office building. This was originally funded along with the HHES remodel with City funds. Additional monies are needed for the Construction Administration and inspection (C/A) services during construction. Utilizing the grant funds for the district office design will free up the City funds for C/A services.
With this reallocation, adequate funding will still be available for currently known providers’ needs within the other grant programs.