Montana Child Care Retention and Recruitment
Child Care Assistance for Child Care Workers
Are you a parent or guardian working in child care and need assistance paying for your own child/children’s care? Good news! A one-time-only child care assistance program is available for eligible child care employees through the Montana Bright Futures Birth to Five Grant.
You may be eligible if:
- At least one parent/guardian in the household must be a staff member working at a licensed child care facility. In addition, the staff member must:
- work directly with children in care
- work at the child care facility for 60 hours per month, and
- approved on the provider staff list through child care licensing.
- Your family lives in Montana.
- Your family income is at or below 250% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL)
- Your child(ren) is a U.S. citizen or qualified alien
- You are complying with child support for children (under the age of 18) with an absent parent.
- Your child is attending a child care provider licensed/registered by the State of Montana. Children cannot attend a child care facility owned by a parent.
What are the benefits of this program?
- Family copays will be capped at $100 per month.
- Families will be eligible for the scholarship for 12 months
- The scholarship will pay the monthly authorized amount if a child attends at least one day each month. This helps to ensure that the family has a slot with their provider.
The application for this program opens on September 18th, 2023. Caregivers can apply now, however, eligibility will not be awarded until October 1st. Funding is limited, and applications are processed on a first-come, first-serve basis.
To learn more about the program, click here! You can submit your application to your local Child Care Resource and Referral Agency.
