The Stamford based Women’s Business Development Council (WBDC) and the State Office of Early Childhood are renewing their partnership to support growing child care businesses.
The WBDC’s Child Care Business Support Program and Opportunity Fund has been extended through 2027.
The state partnership, started during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic as a small project to keep child care businesses running so first responders and other employees could continue to work, will receive $6 million to renew the program.
Under the program, qualified licensed and aspiring child care businesses in Connecticut will receive grants of up to $25,000.
Fran Pastore, CEO of the WBDC, says the support is crucial to Connecticut’s workforce.
“We’re really excited and honored to be part of our state’s solution to making sure that childcare facilities have the resources that they need to take care of our most vulnerable citizens and make sure that families, in particular women, can get back to work and have reliable and affordable childcare,” Pastore said.
Since 2020, the WBDC Child Care Business Support Program has helped create or retain over 9,000 jobs and close to 39,000 child care slots in Connecticut.
The organization has worked with more than 1,800 aspiring and established child care businesses providing over 11,000 hours of education and business advising.
“Supporting our state’s child care providers is essential for Connecticut’s economy, our families and most importantly, our children,” Pastore said.
To date, the program has provided 669 grants totaling $7.3 million to providers at every stage of business development. At the announcement of the partnership renewal, Lt. Gov. Susan Bysewitz said: “We celebrate the renewal of our partnership to support the WBDC’s program. It gives our kids the very best start in life and it helps our women owned businesses who are creating jobs in their communities."
In addition to the start-up grants, the Child Care Opportunity Fund also makes available an Emergency Facilities Grant Program. This fund can offer up to $15,000 to qualified child care businesses unable to cover emergency facilities repair projects, like plumbing or necessary building upgrades to keep the businesses open.
Qualified child care businesses can also look to grow and add more child care spaces through an Expansion Grant Program, which gives grants of up to $25,000 to businesses preparing to grow and hire workers.
“Over the last four years, this collaboration between the Office of Early Child Development and the Women’s Business Development Center has made a measurable impact on Connecticut’s child care businesses and the families they serve,” said Beth Bye, the state Office of Early Childhood’s commissioner.
Bysiewicz said: “When you uplift women, you uplift families and you uplift communities and you uplift our state. It’s an investment in our families and in the future of the state of Connecticut.”
