Child-care grant program open to SE Missouri region

The Community Foundation of the Ozarks is opening the Ozarks Early Childhood Support Grant Program to reduce barriers for quality child care. Those eligible must be in the 58-county service region outside of the Springfield Public Schools boundary, which includes Perry, Cape Girardeau and Scott counties, and others in the Southeast Missouri region.

"Every child deserves a strong start in life," CFO Board Chair Robin Morgan said. "The goal of this new grant opportunity is to prepare kids to succeed in school, support working parents and help childcare centers attract enough qualified staff members to provide high-quality programs."

The funding for this program was awarded to Morgan by an anonymous funder interested in improving access to child care.

The grant offers a total of $300,000 with up to $30,000 available per proposal. It is open to not-for-profit child care centers serving kids ages 6 weeks to pre-K and also to faith-based programs. The programs must serve at least 25% of families who are at or below the federal poverty line, and the programs must serve in a school district catchment area having a 50% or greater free and reduced lunch rate.

Proposals can focus on subsidizing child care costs for families as parents secure jobs, covering the cost gap for families as they await approval of state subsidies and increasing child care staffing through additional staffing or raising wages to attract qualified workers for open positions.

Founded in 1973, the Community Foundation of the Ozarks is the region¹s largest public charitable foundation serving a network of donors, 53 regional affiliate foundations and not-for-profit partners across Central and Southern Missouri with assets of $394 million as of June 30.

The deadline for applications is 11:45 p.m. Sept. 30. For more information and access to the online application portal, visit www.cfozarks.org/applyforgrants.