To support San Diego County childcare providers offering essential services to local families during the COVID-19 pandemic, the County of San Diego, The San Diego Foundation, YMCA of San Diego County and Child Development Associates have launched a $25 million grant program to assist childcare providers.

To be eligible for funding, childcare providers must meet the following criteria:

• Must be in compliance with child-to-staff ratios mandated by the State of California
• Must be located within the geographical boundaries of San Diego County
• Must have self-certified on the grant application that all appropriated grant funds shall only be used for the purposes identified in the grant eligibility criteria, including support for staffing, supplies, mortgage and rental assistance, business resilience and capital improvements for outdoor areas
• Must possess a valid childcare license issued by the State of California, Community Care Licensing, or provide a business statement of information if license-exempt
• Must be open for business at the time of application or planning to open within 45 days of date of application

Eligible childcare providers can apply for grant funds for staffing, supplies, mortgage and rental assistance, business resilience and capital improvements for outdoor areas. If your center has more than 1 (one) valid childcare provider license, you may apply for grant funding for each license. Please complete and submit separate applications for each childcare provider license you possess.

Large family childcare providers (licensed to care for a maximum of 14 children) will be eligible to receive up to $3,500 and small family childcare providers (licensed to care for a maximum of 8 children) will be eligible for up to $2,750.

Non-government contracted, licensed childcare centers will be eligible to receive up to $175 per child capacity, based on childcare license capacity.

Partially-funded Government contracted (i.e. CSPP, CCTR, Head Start), licensed childcare centers will be eligible to receive up to $175 per non-subsidized child, not to exceed license capacity.

Non-government contracted, license-exempt group care providers, such as summer day camps, recreational programs that are camps and community youth clubs such as Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater San Diego, that serve school-age children up to 12 years old will be eligible to receive up to $100 per child capacity.

The $25 million is provided through federal CARES Act funding and was approved for this purpose by the County of San Diego Board of Supervisors.

All information about the San Diego County Childcare Provider Grant Program can be found at SDFoundation.org/ChildcareGrants.

Yes, when visiting SDFoundation.org/ChildcareGrants, individuals have the option to view the grant program page into the following languages: Arabic, English, Haitian Creole, Russian, Somali, Spanish, Tagalog, and Vietnamese. If a language is not available, we encourage visitors to use the Google Translate tool at the bottom of the webpage.

No. The grant program is for San Diego County-based childcare providers who are licensed or an official entity in the state of California. If you are a parent seeking assistance for childcare support, please contact the YMCA of San Diego County at 1-800-481-2151.

The application will be available online starting Wednesday, September 16th at 9am, and providers will have 6 days to submit the application. Providers may apply online from your computer or smartphone. You may  also submit a written application either through email to childcare@sdfoundation.org or mail it to 2508 Historic Decatur Rd., Suite #200, San Diego, CA 92106. Mailed applications must be postmarked by Monday, September 21. To download a paper application, visit SDFoundation.org/ChildcareGrants. In light of recent mailing delays, we encourage all applicants to apply online.

For questions about eligibility, the application or the grant program itself, please email childcare@sdfoundation.org and our team will connect you with the appropriate person to answer your specific question. For all urgent inquiries, please call (619) 814-1389.

Childcare providers can apply for support for staffing, supplies, mortgage and rental assistance, business resilience and capital improvements for outdoor areas and business resilience. Business resilience is the ability an organization has to quickly adapt to disruptions while maintaining continuous business operations and safeguarding people, assets and overall brand equity.

It means the childcare provider serves at least one child through parent paid/private funding while also under government

contract for the California State Preschool Program (CSPP) or California General Child Care and Development (CCTR) or Federal Head Start.

Funds will be distributed via electronic transfer or check no later than November 30, 2020.

School district programs funded by the Department of Education (DOE) are not eligible to apply for the Childcare Provider Grant Program. Please see the full sample application on the website.

Yes, you are eligible.

No. Family, friend and neighbor license-exempt childcare providers are not eligible for this grant.

Military Child Development Centers on and off base are not eligible for a childcare provider grant. Family Childcare Providers (or Child Development Homes) are eligible to receive a childcare provider grant. Any provider accepting NACCRRA military childcare vouchers are eligible for childcare provider grant.

Yes, if you have received other monetary support you can still apply for this grant.

Once we have received your application and enter it into the system, you will receive an email notification to the email address you provided on your application. If you do not provide an email address on your paper application, the system will not be able to generate an email response.

This grant is only available for childcare providers located, operating or licensed in San Diego County.

No. If you have already applied for this grant do not apply again. Duplicate applications will not be accepted. If you have questions regarding your originally submitted application you can reach out to your case manager or to childcare@sdfoundation.org.

For mailed paper applications, all applications which are postmarked by the application deadline of September 21 will be input into the system for processing. Applicants are strongly encouraged to send paper applications in as soon as possible. If possible, we encourage applicants to utilize the online application.

The application is available in the following languages listed on the website: Arabic, English, French Creole, Russian, Somali, Spanish, Tagalog, and Vietnamese.
Translators for these languages are also available for phone support. For translator assistance please contact (619) 814-1389.

Please see the link on the webpage that will take you to a sample application that you can preview.

For organizations with a Valid Childcare Provider License:
You will need your Childcare License number, and license capacity (found on your Childcare License Certificate), and if your program is partially funded by CSPP, CCTR or Head Start, you will need to provide the number of subsidized children who are currently being funded by any of these programs.

For organizations that are License-Exempt:
You will need your business entity number or Employer Identification Number (EIN) and maximum registration capacity per day. No documents for either type of organization will need to be uploaded.

No documents for either type of organization will need to be uploaded.

Your business entity number is issued by the California Secretary of State to all California Corporations: https://www.sos.ca.gov/business-programs/business-entities/cbs-search-tips/. Your Employer Identification Number (EIN) is the identification number issued to business entities by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

Citizenship is not a question on the application. Eligibility for the grant is determined based on the following:

• Must be in compliance with child-to-staff ratios mandated by the State of California.
• Must be located within the geographical boundaries of San Diego County.
• Must have self-certified on the grant application that all appropriated grant funds shall only be used for the purposes identified in the grant eligibility criteria.
• Must possess a valid childcare license (or provide a business statement of information if license-exempt.)
• Must be open for business at the time of application or planning to open within 45 days of date of application.

No, proof of hardship is not required in the application process.

If you are a licensed family childcare home provider the contact information, first and last name, must match the name on your childcare license. If you are a licensed center or eligible license-exempt provider add the contact information of the person completing the application.

All applicants may check their Care Connect portal for application status updates (status is listed under the “Resources” tab). A confirmation about approval or denial status will also be mailed to each applicant according to the mailing address provided on the application.

Grant amounts will be based solely on the capacity indicated on your license.

A government contracted or partially government contracted program is if you are caring for children subsidized through government programs such as HeadStart, CSPP, or CCTR.  Children that are part of the Alternative Payment (AP) Program are NOT considered government subsidized for the purposes of this grant.

Applications must meet eligibility. We expect to receive more applications than we have funds available, therefore, we encourage providers to submit their application as soon as possible.

You will not need to repay the grant, as it is not a loan. Taxes will not be deducted from your grant before it is sent to you, but the grant will be reported to the IRS. Childcare providers who are awarded a grant will receive a 1099 form.

Funds will be distributed via electronic transfer or check no later than November 30, 2020.