South Hennepin News

Rep. Joe McDonald said licensed child-care providers in the Greater Minnesota area may be eligible for financial assistance now that many workers are staying home with their children due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Minnesota Initiative Foundations have received an overwhelming response to their Emergency Child Care Grant Program. The grant program is available for child care providers that care for children ages zero through five-years-old if their parents have been deemed essential or emergency workers.

The six Minnesota Initiative Foundations located in Little Falls, Duluth, Bemidji, Owatonna, Hutchinson and Fergus Falls have each committed $50,000 of their funds, totaling $300,000 for child care providers in the Greater Minnesota area, according to their website.

They are working to secure additional funding to address the ongoing financial needs of child care providers in the state.

To be eligible for the grant program, a child care provider must be a licensed center-based or family provider.

The child care provider must be located in the Greater Minnesota area to receive funding.

Child care providers interested in the grant program must care for the children of workers who have been deemed essential or emergency personnel under Gov. Tim Walz' Executive Order 20-02.

Grant amounts will vary and they will be determined by one of the six local Minnesota Initiative Foundations.