Child Care Accelerator Grant

Child Care Capacity Accelerator Grant, a County Collaboration

Hutchinson, Ks- On April 15, 2023 the Hutchinson Reno County Chamber of Commerce in collaboration with the Reno County Child Care Task Force will host an open meeting with all organizations interested in being a part of a collaborative application to the Kansas’ Children’s Cabinet Accelerator Grant opportunity.

This Accelerator Grant is specifically focused on expanding full time, full year child care capacity in communities by offering capital funds for expansion, renovation, new construction and the implementation of sustainable solutions for licensed child care providers. The applicants must be “shovel ready” with blueprints, budgets, licensing and project plans to qualify for the Accelerator Grant.

A public meeting is being held at the Hutch Chamber at 11:00 am on April 15th to review grant criteria and discuss project readiness. All potential applicants are asked to bring their potential plans and budgets to the meeting to present to the Task Force for consideration. Full grant criteria can be found at

https://allinforkansaskids.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/CCC-Accelerator-RFP.pdf

“This is a unique opportunity for the child care industry to apply for funding at the state level, specifically for capital building purposes, so we are doing our best to maximize the potential impact receiving this award could have on our county,” states Debra Teufel, Chamber President and Task Force member. This Task Force is the same group that was awarded ARPA dollars from both the Reno County Commissioner and Hutchinson City Council earlier this year.

The Hutch Chamber will serve as the fiscal sponsor for the grant, as well as, the administrator of funds should the application be selected. “It’s a rigorous process, but we are happy to be an advocate for child care as we know it greatly impacts many other economic development initiatives our community is working on,” remarks Teufel on the Chamber’s involvement. If this Reno County collaborative application is awarded, this grant has the potential to open up to 200 more slots for child care in Reno County. These dollars will work alongside ARPA dollars invested by Reno County and the City of Hutchinson to further innovation and sustainability of child care county wide. All interested parties should attend the meeting.

The deadline for the final application is May 15th with an announcement of grant winners happening in June. For more information on the public meeting and Accelerator grant details, please contact the Task Force at childcarerenocounty@gmail.com