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Child Care Creation Grant Program
The TN Department of Economic and Community Development has launched the Child Care Creation Grant Program using CDBG-CV funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The program is intended to help expand child care capacity within Tennessee communities. Local governments can use these funds to help daycare providers serve more families.
The GNRC region has been allocated $990,000 of the $9 million made available statewide. GNRC will be responsible for administering a regionally competitive grant application process to recommend projects for funding, up to $500,000.00 per award. Consult the Program Guidelines for more information.
Informational Webinar
GNRC hosted an informational webinar on Thursday, March 17 from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. All local government applicants must have participated in the live webinar or certify that they have reviewed the recorded version prior to completing a final application. A recording of the webinar is provided below. Presentation slides can be downloaded by clicking here.
Want to Jump to the Good Parts? Here are the time points for key sections of the program:
- 02:32 - Program Details
- 05:30 - Project Eligibility
- 06:20 - Requirements and Guidelines
- 11:37 - Application Process and Timelines
- 21:00 - Questions and Answers
Eligible Activities
The grant must be used to expand the capacity of eligible non-home-based daycares. The following activities are ELIGIBLE:
- Acquisition of property, building, or structure
- Rehabilitation of facilities
- Purchase of equipment
- Clearance or demolition of structures
Ineligible Activities
The following activities are NOT ELIGIBLE:
- New construction of facilities
- Supplies and furniture (e.g., chairs, tables, cribs, etc.)
- Subsidies or supplement funding for tuition, enrollment fees, etc.
- Rental payments for facilities
- Recurring fees for utilities
- Other costs associated with operations and management
Eligible Applicants
The application process will require local governments to sponsor proposals submitted by daycare facilities. Daycare facilities that meet the following requirements are eligible to submit a pre-application to their local government beginning March 21, 2022.
- Cannot be a home-based daycare
- Must be licensed by the State of Tennessee or are in the pre-licensure process
- Must participate in the USDA Child and Adult Care Food Program
- Must be able to serve additional students as a result of the grant
- Must be located within an eligible community
Pre-applications must be completed online by April 15, 2002. Additional information is available by clicking the APPLY NOW button above. Once received, GNRC will work with the relevant local government to review daycare applications for eligibility and competitiveness. Eligible projects scoring high enough will then be invited to submit a full application in cooperation with their local government. Final applications will require a public meeting. Applications that include any proposed structural work also will require the submission of a professional architect's report.
Eligible Communities
Only municipal and county governments who opted into the program on or before March 18 are eligible to submit a full application to GNRC. If awarded, local governments may subgrant the funds to a childcare provider or manage the project themselves. The following communities are eligible for the program:
- City of Franklin
- City of Gallatin
- City of LaVergne
- City of Mt. Juliet
- City of Spring Hill
- City of Westmoreland
- Cheatham County (and municipalities)*
- Houston County (and municipalities*
- Montgomery County (and Clarksville)*
- Robertson County*
- Rutherford County*
- Stewart County*
- Wilson County*
- Metropolitan Hartsville-Trousdale County*
- Metropolitan Nashville-Davidson County*
*County or metro governments will accept pre-applications from daycares in their municipalities that did not opt-in.
Public Meeting
Local governments selected through the ranking process will be responsible for hosting a public meeting to inform their citizens of their plans to submit a final application to Tennessee ECD. Advertisements must run in the local newspaper(s) at least twice, with the first running at least 14 days prior to the public hearing date, per standard CDBG rules and requirements. Applicants are encouraged to place notices in public areas throughout the community and share information on its social media.
Professional Architecture Reports
If the project requires substantial changes to the structure, conditional applicants will be required to procure a professional architect. This person or firm will then need to generate a professional architect report detailing the work to be done, why it must be performed, potential issues, and an estimated project budget. Please note that any work performed for this report will be considered conducted outside the grant timeframe and not reimbursable. All procurement must be conducted in accordance with the Tennessee CDBG Manual located at https://www.tn.gov/ecd/community-development-block-grant/cdbg/cdbg-manual.html.
Environmental Review
All projects must comply with NEPA as demonstrated through a completed environmental review. All applicants must agree to utilize GNRC services to conduct the environmental review. GNRC fees for the environmental review are set on a sliding scale and range from $1,500 to $3,000 depending on the level of effort. Costs should be covered using grant funds awarded to the local government applicant.
Program Administration
All grant contracts must comply with state and federal reporting requirements and record-keeping. All applicants must agree to utilize GNRC program administration services to meet those requirements. GNRC program admin fees are set at 7% of the overall project costs as set by TN ECD. Generally, costs should be covered using grant funds awarded to the local government applicant.
Additional Federal Requirements
All projects must meet established CDBG requirements including:
- CDBG National Objectives,
- Uniform Relocation Act,
- Davis-Bacon and other wage-related acts,
- Section 3 – Construction projects over $200,000,
- Procurement standards as dictated by 2 CFR 200 and relevant state laws,
- Recordkeeping and financial management of 2 CFR 200 and 24 CFR 570,
- Fair housing and equal opportunity, and
- SAM registration.
- Is there a match requirement?
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Activities funded under this program are not required to have a match, but any financial leverage that is willing to be contributed by a local government or a participating childcare organization is encouraged.
- Are city or county owned schools with daycare programs eligible?
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Yes, so long as the proposed activities are otherwise eligible. Please download and review the Child Care Creation Program Guidelines for more information about eligible activities.
- Are church-based daycares eligible for the program?
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Religious institutions and churches that provide childcare are eligible as long as 1) enrollment is open to those other than church members, 2) religious beliefs are not part of the enrollment criteria. Please note, funds cannot be used to improve facilities/spaces where the primary use is religious activity (i.e.. sanctuaries).
- Can grant funds be used for new construction of a daycare facility?
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New construction is NOT eligible. Costs for acquiring a building and/or constructing an addition to an existing building are eligible. Please download and review the Child Care Creation Program Guidelines for more information about eligible activities.
- Why are there two applications?
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There are two rounds of applications that may use the same application form template. The first application is submitted by interested childcare providers to their local government sponsor. This will be used by the local government to assess eligibility and competitiveness and to assist the local government in determining which, if any, projects it would like to submit to GNRC for formal evaluation as part of the second round of application. The second round application will be evaluated and scored by GNRC in determining program awards. The second application will be shared publicly and with the TN Department of Economic and Community Development.
Pre-Applications by Daycare Facilities due by April 15
Applications will be accepted from daycare facilities online beginning March 21, 2022. All applicants are strongly encouraged to download and review the application form prior to beginning the online application process. It is important to have all of the required information available at the time of application.
- Download a copy of the application form (Preview Only)
- The application period is closed as of April 15, 2022
Full Applications by Local Government Sponsors due by April 29
Applications will be accepted from local government sponsors online beginning April 18, 2022.