Waterbury, Vt. —The Vermont Department for Children and Families (DCF), Child Development Division (CDD) today announced a new program to support child care, preschool, and afterschool programs with stabilization, expansion, and quality improvement efforts.
The 2023 Child Care and Early Childhood Education law (Act 76) created the Readiness Payment Program to support child care, preschool, and afterschool programs in "getting ready" for the expansion of the Child Care Financial Assistance Program (CCFAP) and other changes in Act 76.
Programs can apply now! Eligible programs complete a simple online application that takes about 10 minutes. There is no monthly reporting requirement, but programs must complete a feedback and impact survey after receiving their final payment.
Payments will be issued starting September 2023 and will continue through February 2023. There is also potential for additional payments before June 30, 2024, if funds remain.
Programs have flexibility in how they use the payments to support stability, expansion, and quality improvement.
CDD has a dedicated team ready and available to support programs with this process. Please reach out to ahs.dcfcddreadiness76@vermont.gov with questions about this program and for technical assistance to complete the application.
To learn more, please visit the Funding Opportunities for Providers & Programs page on the DCF website.