Edited release
05/19/22
Governor Kim Reynolds announced a new Child Care Business Incentive Grant Program Wednesday, designed to encourage employers to offer child care as a benefit to their employees.
The Child Care Business Incentive Grant Program will provide a total of $25 million to support child care projects across the state. $20 million will be utilized to support local infrastructure investments to build or expand child care capacity, and $5 million will be used to support arrangements between employers and child care facilities to expand and reserve child care slots.
Potential projects could include the creation and development of an on-site child care center or a partnership with an existing child care center to create new child care slots paid for by a local employer.
In March 2021, Gov. Reynolds launched the Child Care Task Force to address the child care shortage in Iowa. While Iowa is a national leader in the share of households with all parents working, 23 percent of Iowans live in a “child care desert,” and Iowa has lost 33 percent of its child care businesses over the past five years. It’s estimated that Iowa’s child care shortage costs the State’s economy roughly $935 million annually in lost tax revenue, worker absences, and employee turnover.
Information on the Child Care Business Incentive Grant Program is now available at
https://www.futurereadyiowa.gov/child-care-grants?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery
The state will begin accepting applications on IowaGrants.gov starting on Friday, June 17th. Applications must be submitted by Monday, July 18th.