INDIANAPOLIS — Applications for a new employer-sponsored child care fund are open, the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration announced Monday.
“Employers know first-hand the critical needs of their employees, and are best positioned to partner in their communities to create child care solutions that will help build and retain their workforce,” Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb said in a news release. “This targeted grant program will boost Indiana’s economy and most importantly empower the state’s youngest learners with the tools they need to be successful in the years to come.”
About 55% of Hoosiers live in a childcare desert, according to the Center for American Progress. The left-leaning think tank defines a desert as any census tract with more than 50 children under age 5 that has either no childcare providers or very few: three times fewer licensed slots than kids.
The $25 million program offers employers seed funding for childcare initiatives using some of the state’s remaining pandemic-era federal relief funds.
Employers can use funds to sponsor flexible spending accounts called dependent care assistance plans, provide on- or near-site child care, partner with local child care programs for priority access or reserved seats, provide child care tuition benefits, and more, according, to a list of eligible expenses.
Employers must also be willing to match 10% of the total amount they request and be able to take action within the first year of the program.
Applications are open until November 22 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern.
The program comes as state lawmakers increasingly discuss Indiana’s childcare crisis and possible solutions. A health-focused interim committee made multiple policy recommendations in a report released last week.
