Montgomery County presents $3.5 million check for childcare program grants

A $3.5 million ceremonial check displayed at the Kidz Konnect Childcare Center playground highlighted the chronic needs of childcare facilities throughout Montgomery County.

Officials presented the seven-figure check on Monday morning as part of the Childcare Operation Recovery Program. The initiative, established through the Montgomery County Recovery Office, aims to offer grants ranging from $2,500 to $15,000 to eligible agencies.

Nearly 80% of local agencies have applied and received approval so far, according to Montgomery County Commissioners’ Chairwoman Jamila Winder, who noted around 415 childcare facilities are situated throughout Montgomery County.

“The great thing is that childcare centers can put this funding where it’s needed most because they know their needs the best,” Winder said.

The initiative stemmed from a meeting in 2022 in which advocates, elected officials and childcare providers convened a roundtable to discuss the state of childcare in the county. The roundtable focused on how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the industry, emphasizing the need for services and struggles facilities face.

Winder shared how she’s seen these issues firsthand, enrolling her 4-year-old son Max in a Montgomery County childcare center.

“I’m certainly empathetic to their plight and … I hear it from the owners of the daycare that Max goes to, the challenges that they have faced over the last several years really trying to stay afloat,” she said.

Montgomery County Commissioners’ Vice Chairman Neil Makhija too observed how “there’s a serious need we’re seeing across the board,” as staffing has long been a concern for childcare providers, who’ve recalled how it’s been a tough few years retaining teachers throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dr. April Colbert and her husband, Justin, know this all too well as co-owners of the Blue Bell-based childcare facility that opened at “the height” of the global public health crisis.

Kidz Konnect Childcare Center employs 12 staff members and has enrolled 50 children ages 6 weeks to 5 years, April said. The Colberts received a $15,000 endowment from the Childcare Operation Recovery Program, according to a Montgomery County spokesperson.

“It means everything. Obviously, we’ve all been through the struggles of COVID. No one really knows what to expect. We have a lot of people counting on [us],” Justin told MediaNews Group. “We have a lot of staff we’re responsible for. It’s been a blessing.”

“The most appreciative thing about this grant is … retaining the current staff that we have,” April said, stressing the newfound ability to “hire other teachers to open classrooms we had closed because of staffing.”

Personnel is also top of mind for the Norristown-based Saint Francis of Assisi Early Learning Center Director Virginia Bueno and Wonderspring Early Education CEO Zakiyyah Boone. Bueno said the programming capacity for the Norristown-based facility can reach up to 200 children ages 6 weeks to 12 years.

Boone stressed obstacles finding talent to teach the center’s youngest. Based in Narberth, the organization serves 1,200 students at 11 different branch locations across the greater Philadelphia region.

“Our greatest challenge … is recruiting and retaining high quality staff. Not just anyone, but highly qualified staff, particularly infant and toddler teachers,” Boone said.

Boone added how a $5,000 grant will help Wonderspring’s Plymouth location address recruitment, retention and training needs for staff members.

“This grant will be used to help us recruit highly qualified teachers, to reopen currently closed classrooms,” Boone said. “We will also provide our teachers the professional development training they need to implement our curriculum with fidelity in classrooms that adhere to post-COVID health and safety standards.”

“This grant enables us to supplement teacher compensation, which has a direct positive effect on retention,” she continued. “Support for the teachers who care for these children that you see here today, while parents work and contribute to our economy, is what this grant truly provides.”

Boone was one of several childcare providers who brought her concerns about the local industry to county commissioners during recent public sessions. Providers urged public officials to provide a line of funding to address critical staffing shortages. County commissioners announced the rollout of the initiative in late June. Funding will combine American Rescue Plan Act dollars at the local, state and federal levels, officials previously said.

“It’s great to act on things that we’ve heard from the community [that have] major concerns,” Makhija said.

Winder also stressed the importance of fostering relationships with the early childhood education community and continuing to build on the foundation of need.

“It’s just a step in the right direction, and we have a commitment to do more in walking alongside our early learning partners, and so I want this not to be the first,” Winder told MediaNews Group. “I really want our early learning partners to continue to come to us with ideas and strategies and what government can do to further support this critical part of our community.”

While the majority $3.5 million featured on Monday is expected to focus on “operational grants,” another $500,000 component was earmarked to “support substitute teacher needs” at local provider agencies, Winder said back in June.

Eligibility criteria include a licensed physical location that’s in an “active” status. Providers operating on or after March 2020 “will receive a reduced amount equal to 75% of the eligible funds for licensed capacity.” Eligibility will not be extended to providers opening on or after May 12, 2023, according to the county’s website.

“We recognize, coming out of COVID, what strain the COVID-19 pandemic had on … early child care centers, and for us to be able to play a role in taking those … pandemic relief dollars and put it towards really helping those child care centers stay afloat is just us keeping our promise, and really focusing on our children and those that play a role in pouring into our children and getting them off to a great start when it comes to early learning,” Winder said.

Montgomery County Commissioner Tom DiBello agreed.

“As a county commissioner, it’s always exciting that we’re able to make decisions like this. To be able to find the money, to infuse it into companies like this and see an instant reward, instant gratification, instant help, because then you really feel good about what you’re doing,” he said.

Winder also stressed the importance of keeping channels open to continue the work.

“This is a deeply rooted problem that will take us time to unpack, and will take us time working with various stakeholder groups to solve for, but we hear it from the national level to the state level that child care is the number one issue that working families care about, and so I’m just excited that Montgomery County is at the forefront of doing our part to solve some of that,” Winder said.

“It’s been a godsend. I feel like this is just the beginning,” Justin Colbert said.

“Wonderspring is grateful to be a recipient and hopeful for the future state of childcare in Pennsylvania,” Boone said.