Funding is now available to help licensed child care centers cover costs associated with the COVID-19 outbreak and to cover child care costs for some essential workers in Arkansas, a group of State Legislators and the Arkansas Department of Human Services (DHS) announced.
“Safe and high-quality child care is critically important to families trying to get back to work and to our economy as a whole,” said DHS Deputy Director for Children and Families Keesa Smith. “This funding will help address the safety and economic issues for child care that have arisen as a result of this pandemic, and the enhanced safety procedures will help assure parents that we at DHS are committed to protecting children.”
The DHS Division of Child Care and Early Childhood Education (DCCECE) issued additional pandemic procedures to licensed child care providers aimed at stopping the spread. The guidance follows Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Arkansas Department of Health recommendations, and requires screening for all individuals (staff, children, and families) entering a facility and prior to transporting; limiting group size to 10 or less, including staff and children; requiring staff to wear masks; serving individual rather than family style meals; and more frequent handwashing and sanitation.
These precautions are in addition to regular licensing requirements related to infectious disease.
DCCECE outlined how federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding of over $41 million in Child Care Development Block Grant funds will be used. Visit https://t.e2ma.net/message/3v8nkf/bmyz1g for additional information.