(From the Seattle DEEL’s website) For the third consecutive year, the Department of Education and Early Learning (DEEL) will provide millions in relief to support and retain child care workers. Funded by the Payroll Expense Tax, up to $5.3 million–the City’s largest direct payment investment to date–is projected to reach approximately 4,500 child care workers across the city.
Applications open Tuesday, June 13, 2023, and can be accessed here.
Retention Payment Eligibility, Application, and Awards
Staff working at family child care and center-based programs, licensed by the Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF), within Seattle city limits are eligible to receive payments. Applications must be completed by the employer or in the case of Family Child Care programs, must be completed by the licensee. The application period opens Tuesday, June 13, 2023 and closes Wednesday, July 5, at 11:59 p.m. Applications will be available in Amharic, Arabic, Chinese (Simplified), English, Oromo, Somali, Spanish, and Vietnamese.
The amount per worker will be determined based on the number of eligible staff identified by applicants. Brightspark Early Learning Services—formerly known as Child Care Resources—will distribute funds to providers on behalf of the City of Seattle once applications are processed. Payments will be distributed by each child care program to all eligible staff via the program’s payroll system. Visit Seattle Child Care Staff Retention Payments for more information.
“BrightSpark Early Learning Services is proud to partner once again with DEEL to deliver much needed compensation directly to child care providers in the form of retention payments—an acknowledgement and honoring of the educators who have remained open throughout the last few years enabling parents to work and ensuring children’s access to high quality early learning goes uninterrupted,” said Phoebe Sade, Executive Officer, BrightSpark Early Learning Services.
“This effort is missional for BrightSpark and aligns with our commitment to advocate for equitable wages and paying the true cost of child care. The response from providers during the previous rounds of grants was overwhelming: these funds helped stabilize businesses and retain qualified staff. We commend the City of Seattle for prioritizing child care.”
Read the full press release from the Seattle DEEL here.