To: Board of Supervisors
From: County Administrative Office
Agenda Section: Departmental
Vote Requirement: Majority
SUBJECT:title
Update on Childcare Stabilization Fund Effort Financed by the American Rescue Plan Act end
RECOMMENDATION(S):Recommendation
That the Board of Supervisors:
1. Receive a presentation from North Edge Financing, which administers the Childcare Stabilization Fund Program.
Body
STRATEGIC PLAN:
The recommended actions support the following areas of the Board of Supervisors Strategic Plan:
Area of Focus: A Diverse, Equitable & Robust Economy
Strategic Plan Category: 2005 - Access to child care
DISCUSSION:
On May 10, 2022, the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors ("Board") approved a professional services agreement with North Edge Financing, formerly known as Arcata Economic Development Commission, to administer, in partnership with local childcare agencies, a childcare stabilization program, funded by the American Rescue Plan Act - State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund. Since that time, North Edge Financing and its partners have implemented significant parts of the Childcare Stabilization Fund Program, including, without limitation:
* Granted funding to local childcare workers who worked during the pandemic and provided a hiring bonus to new employees; and
* Created tools to allow providers to report information to the state more efficiently, and most recently opened a forgivable loan program to improve and transition centers and homes from preschool to infant/toddler care.
Additional steps have been taken in Childcare Stabilization Fund Program, which has a total value of Four Million Eight Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($4,850,000.00). The Childcare Stabilization Fund Program's most recent efforts have centered around helping parents with moderate incomes to pay the difference between the subsidy they currently receive and the total amount of care. North Edge Financing and its partners will present on the progress o...
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