CHILD CARE FACILITIES IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM
The application window for this program closed on October 20th, 2023 at 5pm.
Since opening applications for the New Jersey Child Care Facilities Improvement Program late last year, hundreds of child care centers throughout the state have submitted applications for funding. Collectively, these centers serve tens of thousands of the youngest New Jerseyans and employ thousands of staff in our vital early childhood workforce.
We are pleased to share that in mid-March 2023, NJEDA made its first grant award approvals! Now that we have established the infrastructure to administer this complex program, we expect many more applications will be reviewed and approved in the near future.
What this means:
- We have NOT run out of funding. These initial grant approvals reflect only a small amount of the total funding available.
- Applications are being reviewed based on submission date and time. Application processing speed and approval may be impacted by how complete and thorough the application is at the time of submission (e.g., missing or incorrect documentation). As a result, it may take months for an application to move from initial submission to grant approval. We highly recommend that you address any identified issues quickly and thoroughly once identified. Please also find a complete list of documentation and requirements listed HERE.
- As your application moves into the first stages of the review process, you will receive an email from a Child Care Grant Reviewer at the NJEDA. You may also get emails from ChildCareFacilitiesImprovementProgram@njeda.gov with other updates and information. We strongly recommend that you check your junk and spam filters to ensure that all emails from @njeda.gov are routed to your inbox.
This first-of-its-kind program has multiple stages of review and analysis, and more information can be found HERE. The NJEDA is working hard to quickly and efficiently process applications. We appreciate your patience and understanding as we work to establish a brand-new program that delivers on Governor Murphy’s commitment to strengthening the child-care sector and building a stronger, fairer New Jersey.
We will provide additional updates as the program continues to move forward. However, you can find answers to frequently asked questions or points of clarification that NJEDA has encountered since opening the Child Care Facilities Improvement Application in November 2022 HERE.
Should you have additional questions, you can also contact CustomerCare@njeda.com, call (844) 965-1125, or use the Customer Care chat feature found on the NJEDA website.
The Child Care Facilities Improvement Program provides grants to New Jersey child care providers for facilities improvements that will contribute to high quality early childhood learning environments.
AMOUNT
Grants to cover the full amount of project costs between $50,000 and $200,000
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Up to 20% of grant may be used for soft costs (e.g., architects, environmental assessment)
BENEFITS
Child care providers may propose interior and exterior facility improvements to enhance the quality of their facility and receive funding to cover the full project cost
ELIGIBILITY
Applicants must be registered with the NJ Department of Children and Families through their local Child Care Resource & Referral Agency
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Prior to approval, applicants must be registered to do business in NJ and must provide a Tax Clearance Certificate
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At time of application, applicants must enroll or have enrolled in the 12 months prior to application, at least one child receiving support through the DHS Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP)
Offer full time care (a minimum of 6 hours/day, 5 days/week, 10 months/year
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*See below for more details on Eligibility Requirements.
PROGRAM DETAILS
Phase 1 of the Child Care Facilities Improvement Program will provide grants for total project costs between $50,000 and $200,000 to licensed child care providers to make improvements to their child care facility in order to:
- Provide funding to businesses—including many minority- and women-owned businesses and those in Opportunity Zone eligible census tracts—that otherwise may not have access to resources to fund facility improvements.
- Promote healthy childhood environments for children, families, and child care providers that were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Support the capacity of child care providers to provide infant and toddler care in tandem with the expansion of Universal Pre-K to serve more 4-year-olds in the state.
- Engage providers to participate in New Jersey’s child care quality improvement rating system, Grow NJ Kids.
- Target resources to communities of greater need due to historic disinvestment, through set-aside for providers located in Opportunity Zones and include the requirement that providers serve low-income children receiving Child Care Assistance subsidies.
ELIGIBILTY
Child care centers licensed by the NJ Department of Children and Families (NJDCF) as of June 4, 2021 are eligible to apply for facility improvement grants. Child care providers may own or lease the space where the facility improvement will occur. Landlords are not eligible to apply.
Applicants are limited to two applications per Employer Identification Number (EIN). Applicants operating from multiple locations under a sole EIN must submit separate applications for each NJDCF-licensed location, up to two locations.
Applicants must meet the following eligibility requirements:
- Child care center licensed by NJDCF as of June 4, 2021*
- Applicants must currently enroll, or have enrolled in the 12 months prior to the date of application, at least one (1) child receiving support through New Jersey Department of Human Services (NJDHS) Child Care Assistance Program
- Applicants may be for-profit businesses or non-profit organizations
- Can own or lease space
- Applicants must be in good standing with the New Jersey Departments of Labor and Workforce Development, Environmental Protection, NJDCF, and NJDHS
- Applicant must not be debarred from receiving federal funds, as indicated through System for Award Management (SAM)
- Applicants are limited to one (1) application per DCF-licensed child care center location, and two (2) applications per Employer Identification (EIN).
- Applicants who are not currently enrolled in DHS’ Grow NJ Kids (GNJK) quality rating system must commit to enroll within one (1) year of executing a grant agreement with the EDA.
- Grantees must commit to maintaining their licensure with DCF to provide child care for four (4) years following execution of the grant agreement at the location of the facility improvement project.
* Home-based child care providers are not eligible for the first phase of the program. Funding for registered family child care homes will be available in subsequent program phases.
Facility improvement projects must meet the following eligibility requirements:
- Total project costs between $50,000 and $200,000
- Labor and materials cost for interior and exterior facility improvements to create high quality early childhood learning environments. Please see the full list of eligible facility improvement projects here.
- Soft costs are capped at up to 20% of total grant and are limited to: architect fees, permit fees, construction management, freight and shipping delivery, environmental assessment
- Contractors conducting facility improvements must be a DOL Public Works Registered Contractor and abide by state prevailing wage and affirmative action requirements
- The Program will not provide reimbursement for costs already incurred prior to award
AWARD SIZE
Grants will be made for eligible project costs between $50,000 and $200,000. Grants are intended to cover the full cost of the facility improvement project and applicants may not use external funding sources to fund the specific project(s) proposed in the application for this program.
Grant awards will be calculated based on the quoted project cost of the facility improvement, plus an additional 15% which the grantee may use, upon request and NJEDA verification, for unanticipated cost overruns.
The Program will not provide reimbursement for costs already incurred prior to award.
FEES
Due to financial hardship experienced by child care providers during the pandemic, the Authority will collect no fees from the applicant for this program.
Are you a Department of Labor Registered Public Works Contractor interested in helping improve child care facilities through the New Jersey Child Care Facilities Improvement Program?
To help connect potential applicants with DOL Public Works Registered Contractors, the NJEDA will develop and maintain a public list of DOL Public Works Registered Contractors that have expressed interest in the program. This list will be made available as an optional resource to potential applicants.
If you would like to be on this list, please click here
What requirements are contractor(s) subject to on this project?
- Contractors must be registered as a New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (DOL) Public Works Contractor. More about Public Works Registered Contractors can be found here.
- Contractors and their subcontractors must register at SAM.GOV and are subject to a debarment check
- Contractors must agree to pay prevailing wage, which is set by county and by construction trade
- Contractors with 4 or more total employees must abide by affirmative action requirements
Department of Labor Public Works Registered Contractor Information Session
Please join us on Thursday, November 10th from 1:00 – 2:00 pm to learn more about the New Jersey Child Care Facilities Improvement Program – Phase 1 and its contractor requirements. Topics covered will include prevailing wage and affirmative action requirements, public works contractor registration and debarment verification, and payment submissions. Register here for this upcoming virtual event.