After announcing in July the 61 recipients from the most recent round of awards of the WBDC Child Care Business Support Program, the WBDC and the OEC are hitting the road on Aug. 16 to visit child care businesses in Shelton, Hartford and Wethersfield.
The program, designed to support, sustain, and grow child care businesses in Connecticut — an industry devastated by the pandemic — has shown in its first two years to not only have affected economic growth and job creation in that industry, but has also yielded positive outcomes for many of the state’s child care providers.
In this round alone, the program awarded 119 grants totaling $1.47 million to Connecticut child care businesses. Overall, the program has yielded 350 grants to 210 child care businesses — totaling more than $4 million in funding.
See the full list of recipients from this round
Aug. 16 WBDC Child Care Road Show visits to grant recipients
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM – SHELTON
WHERE: Smartly Fun, 483 Pumpkin Hill Road, Shelton
WHO: Gov. Ned Lamont (invited), OEC Commissioner Beth Bye, WBDC team members, local elected officials
2:00 PM - 3:00 PM – HARTFORD
WHERE: Rise and Shine Daycare, 107 Harvard Street, Hartford
WHO: WBDC team members, local elected officials
3:30 PM - 4:30 PM – WETHERSFIELD
WHERE: Little Wise Family Home Daycare, 97 Brookside Circle, Wethersfield
WHO: WBDC team members, local elected officials
Grant programs offered through the WBDC Child Care Opportunity Fund:
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Start Up Grant Program: Offers one-time cash grants of up to $5,000 to help individuals in financial need become licensed and operating child care providers with the Connecticut Office of Early Childhood (OEC).
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Emergency Facilities Grant Program: Offers grants of up to $25,000 to qualified child care businesses suffering severe revenue shortages to cover emergency facilities maintenance projects to keep their business open and operating safely.
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Expansion Grant Program: Offers grants of up to $25,000 to qualified child care businesses preparing to expand their businesses to grow their operations and create additional slots or revenue streams.
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Business Incentive Program: Offers licensed child care businesses in Connecticut a customized business development incentive program. Incentives include technology, cash grants, vouchers, and more.