ARPA STABILIZATION GRANT APPLICATION

The Louisiana Department of Education is providing a grant opportunity funded by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) for open Type I, II and III licensed early learning centers and Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP)-certified providers. ARPA provides Louisiana with over $400 million dollars for child care stabilization grants.  This is the first of two grant opportunities; therefore, the size of these grants will be large and will play a significant role in sustaining child care in Louisiana. LDOE is required by ACF to ask questions about race, gender and ethnicity for grant recipients, but these responses have no impact on grant funding.

To be eligible for this grant, you must be operational (licensed or registered and CCAP-certified) AND serving children by September 1, 2021. Note that closure of a provider immediately following September 1, 2021, may trigger an audit and a possible repayment of grant funds . Therefore, it is important to contact licensing at ldelicensing@la.gov to explain the reason for closure. 

To become a CCAP-certified provider, please notify the Division of Licensing at ldelicensing@la.gov of your open/close status and contact Provider Certification at providercertification@la.gov. 

If the provider owes funds for prior CCAP overpayments and has not entered into a repayment agreement, these funds will be deducted from the grant disbursement funds and may delay receipt of payment. There will be strict adherence to grant application deadlines; however, additional grant opportunities may be presented at a later date. 

Head Start/Early Head Start programs serving CCAP children are not included in this grant but can apply through a separate grant application that will be posted by September 13, 2021. 

Grant Application begins on August 5, 2021 and concludes on August 19, 2021.

If you have questions or need assistance completing this application, please call 225-252-9543 or 225-250-7635 or email providercertification@la.gov.

To continue to application, please click the next button.

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You must submit your license number to have a complete application.

Please contact licensing at ldelicensing@la.gov or provider certification at providercertification@la.gov if you need assistance with your license number.

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Please confirm your site's zip code for grant calculation purposes. Click the button below to allow the form to calculate the proper grant amount.

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The following questions are asked to identify your current major expenses and general operating costs, also known as the money you spend each month to operate. This information will be kept confidential and may be used by LDOE to assess future grant amounts and assist with determining true cost of care. Please try to be as precise as possible. You will be required to certify your answers prior to submitting this application. 

If in doubt, combine expenses into an expense category to develop the monthly total.

If no expense in a category, you may enter 0.

[CCDF required information and assists with determining the true cost of care.]

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Plan for spending this round of the ARPA Stabilization grant payment

Subgrant funds may only be used for the following categories. The following questions are about how you plan to spend your TOTAL received grant funds. Because this is an estimate, you will be able to move funds between categories without prior approval, but this helps us better understand your greatest funding needs and is CCDF required reporting.

Please confirm this amount is $0.00. Adjust your estimations to ensure all grant funds are used.

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1. I confirm that the data on the application is correct including operating costs and understand that the estimated grant amount may change based on verification of answers by the Louisiana Department of Education.
2. For each employee (including lead teachers, aides, and any other staff who are employed by the child care provider to work in transportation, food preparation, or other type of service), I must continue paying at least the same amount of weekly wages and maintain the same benefits (such as health insurance and retirement) for the duration of the subgrant. I understand that I may not furlough employees from the date of application submission through the duration of the subgrant period.
3.  I will provide relief from copayments and tuition payments for the families enrolled in the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP), to the extent possible, and prioritize such relief for families struggling to make either type of payment.
4. I will prioritize children of critical infrastructure workers such as hospital and first responder staff during the pandemic.
5. I will serve children authorized under CCAP as applicable.
6. I will use health and safety practices that prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the child care environment based on guidance from local and state health departments and the LDOE.
7. I will only use these funds for the expenses associated with the child care facility and its operations. I will retain records of expenses and make them accessible to LDOE staff and other authorized personnel.
8. I understand that personal use of these funds or use for construction (with the exception of construction of partitions) are strictly prohibited.
9. I understand that if it is determined that the funds were misused, I (including the owner, and board of directors, if applicable), will be investigated and information will be provided to the district attorney’s office for prosecution.
10. I understand that if my center changes from a Type III to a Type I or Type II center prior to July 1, 2022, the CCAP and provider type factors of the bonus calculation grants will be recouped. If a center voluntarily closes prior to July 1, 2022, the reason for the closure will be audited and the grant funds may be recouped. I am also aware that If the Department determines that any amounts paid to the provider exceeded the amount to which the provider was qualified during their CCAP certification, the Department shall have the right to recover or recoup those amounts from any future payments and/or prior to release of the approved grant amount.

The following signature affirms that I (applicant listed above) am responsible for the use of these funds and will adhere to the items noted in sections A through J. It also affirms I will only use the funds in the areas noted in the Options for Use of Funds section of this application.

Initial to indicate that you understand that incomplete applications, applications that are not submitted timely, applications that have incorrect information may cause payment delays.  Because of the large amounts of these grants, payments will be disbursed regionally and not all payments will be released at the same time. Initial below indicating that you understand and have submitted information correct the best of your knowledge and if you have any questions or concerns related to this grant application, that you reach out to the provider help desk at 225-252-9543 or 225-250-7635 or email providercertification@la.gov. 

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The following calculations are based on your answers to the questions in the application. Please review the questions asked if you feel the amount is in error. If the Zip Code Bonus is zero, you did not click to submit your zip code. Go back and click to submit the zip code to allow the form to calculate your proper grant amount. Any fields that are incomplete will not populate the grant amount. Review your application if you have any concerns about the estimated amount.

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