Dear Family Child Care and Center-Based Child Care Providers:

Thank you for continuing your critical work supporting children and families. We hope that you are able to take time for yourself this holiday season and rest, rejuvenate and recharge.

To help support your work, we're sharing some important updates and reminders.

Provider Call

The next provider call is Monday, Jan. 4 at 7 p.m. The call will feature agency partners, including the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE), Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), and the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS).

• Submit your question to childrenscabinet.mmb@state.mn.us by Wednesday Dec. 30 at 12 noon.
• Join the call: Log in to WebEx or by phone (1-415-655-0003; Access code: 146 205 3185).
• View a recording of the Dec. 7 call.

Congressional Federal Relief Agreement Includes $10 Billion for Child Care

The U.S. Congress reached an agreement over the weekend on a $900 billion coronavirus response package that, among other provisions, includes $10 billion for child care and $325 billion in small business supports (including $284 billion for the Paycheck Protection Program). The bill passed Monday evening, and is awaiting signature from the President. The workgroup is reviewing the language. As they’re made available, we will provide more details on the bill and the supports included for the child care industry and access.

COVID-19 Public Health Support Funds

An award announcement for December 2020 payment went out to eligible providers on Friday, December 18^th. As was previously communicated, the request for funds was more than the funds available in October through December and the Minnesota Department of Human Services received more applications than anticipated. The department has modified the total amount of the December payments to licensed child care providers with licensed child care center capacity determined based on the provider’s licensed capacity on Sept. 15, 2020.

Please see questions number 13 and 14 in the newly-updated Frequently Asked Questions for more information about the December payments. Also see the FAQ for questions you might have about reporting a closure (#5), future funding (#7), filing your taxes (#10), when to use the funds (#35) and many other topics.

You can expect to receive your check via U.S. Mail by December 28. As a reminder, you must prioritize use of these funds during the monthly award periods, and must use funds to cover costs incurred after March 1, 2020, and before Dec. 30, 2020.

Regularly Review the Public Health Guidance

Find links to public health guidance and other important information on https://mn.gov/childcare/providers/.

COVID-19 Testing

COVID-19 community testing sites have capacity. Testing site information and locations can be found on mn.gov/covid19. Minnesota has opened testing sites across the state that are available at this website. Appointments are recommended to decrease wait times but walk-ins are welcome. We encourage Minnesotans to regularly utilize these testing sites regardless of whether you have symptoms. A testing flyer is available to display or print for staff and families in your program.

Thank you to the child care centers that have participated in the Onsite COVID-19 Screening Testing Pilot. We are pleased to share that this program will continue into the new year. The program will also expand to additional centers statewide that have at least 15 or more staff onsite. More information will be coming next week.

Vaccine Prioritization Guidelines

MDH will be using the federal government’s COVID-19 vaccine prioritization guidelines, CISA (Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency) Essential Critical Infrastructure Workers guidance, which includes both child care workers and teachers. More information about vaccines will be announced by MDH and posted on its website. We will share as more is available.

Share Your Capacity and Status

Thank you to the many providers who have recently updated their capacity survey. As health care and other critical sectors increasingly face workforce challenges and learning models continue to shift across the state, it’s even more important that you continue to update your capacity through the survey so that families seeking care and schools interested in partnering to provide care can be connected to your programs. We are sharing this map and survey with hospitals and critical sectors. If you have questions about your license and availability to serve additional school-age children, call the DHS hotline at 1-888-234-1268.

Contact Us

If you have any questions, please send to childrenscabinet.mmb@state.mn.us or call us at 651-259-3636.

Thank you for all you do,

Erin Bailey & Jenny Moses, Governor’s Children’s Cabinet

On behalf of participating agency leaders and staff