FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 08, 2020

Department of Social Services announces second round for CARES Act grant proposals to expand child care services on college campuses

JEFFERSON CITY, MO — The Department of Social Services is seeking grant proposals for nearly $5 million of Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act Child Care Plan funding. The grants are part of Governor Mike Parson’s initiative to fund improvements in the quality and availability of child care and early education programs. The grants establish or expand on-campus child care centers and are a one-time grant that support and strengthen access to safe child care for 20 more children ages 6 weeks to 5 years of low-income families receiving child care subsidies while parents work or pursue education or training. The grant period runs through October 31, 2021. The deadline for proposal submission is October 28 and more grant information is available online.

“Last week it was my great pleasure to announce over $5 million in funding to five college campus grant recipients and we hope that announcement will prompt an even greater number of proposals from other Missouri colleges for the remaining portion of the $10 million allocated to this program," Governor Parson said. "As Governor, I must make certain Missouri optimizes every program dollar that comes into our state and it just doesn’t get any better when you are able to make it easier for hard working parents to pursue a better future for their family and provide excellent care and early education opportunities for their children.”

"We saw a variety of college communities selected as recipients of the first five grants," said Jennifer Tidball, Acting Director, Department of Social Services. "This is a unique opportunity to introduce child care or enhance child care on a college campus to make life for parents and their children better. It will be exciting to see the proposals from other colleges around the state and how they can best serve the needs of children and parents in their community."

On October 1, Governor Parson announced the five recipients of the first-round grant of $5.1 million, which include Harris-Stowe State University, Northwest MO State University, Ozarks Technical Community College, Missouri University of Science and Technology, and Missouri Southern State University.

The CARES Act Child Care Plan also provides these benefits to low-income Missourians:

• Through December, low-income Missouri families unemployed due to COVID-19 can get a temporary Child Care Subsidy benefit (up to 90 days) while they look for work.
• Through December 31, parents who work, attend school, or train for work with an income from 138 to 215 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL), may now qualify for Transitional Child Care Subsidy, even if they previously did not qualify for Child Care Subsidy.
• Missouri families qualifying for a Transitional Child Care Subsidy benefit receive an 80 percent subsidy benefit if their income is between 138 to 176 percent of the FPL or a 60 percent subsidy benefit if their income is from 177 to 215 percent of the FPL.
• Parents can get fulltime child care subsidy benefits through December 31, 2020 for eligible school-aged students who are not attending in person.

Missourians who have questions not specific to an individual' case can use the DSS Virtual Assistant to get immediate answers to basic questions 24 hours a day. Phone assistance is also available, call 855-FSD-INFO or 855-373-4636 Monday through Friday, 6:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. and Saturday 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Missourians in need of information on Child Care Subsidy, Food Stamp, Medicaid, Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families benefit programs can visit dss.mo.gov. Missourians can also apply for those services 24/7 online by visiting MyDSS.mo.gov, or sending completed applications and verification documents by email to FSD.Documents@dss.mo.gov, or by fax to 573-526-9400. The Missouri Services Navigator also has information on over 2,800 programs and services in Missouri.

The Department of Social Services is committed to the “Show Me Strong" Recovery Plan and serving the needs of Missouri citizens during the COVID-19 pandemic. SkillUp and Missouri Work Assistance (MWA) are free programs available to all Food Stamp/SNAP and TA recipients that help low-income Missourians with career planning, overcoming challenges to work, as well as getting and keeping a job.   Information regarding the department’s response to the pandemic is available online https://dss.mo.gov/covid-19.

The mission of the Department of Social Services is to empower Missourians to live safe, healthy, and productive lives.  Visit dss.mo.gov to learn more about the Department of Social Services and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

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