The ARPA grant opened to providers offering direct care for Sept. 1, 2021 and will stop on August 31, 2022.
During the grant period, any month you are providing direct care, as of the 1st of the month, you are eligible to receive your full monthly grant allotment.
As payments are sent out monthly and cover the previous month, the last issue of payments for the ARPA Grant will be Sept. 2022. That check will cover August 2022.
For any provider that stops providing direct care prior to August 1, 2022 you need to notify OCFS ARPA Stabilization Grant administrator of the last day you will be providing direct care. Email: ARPAChildCareGrants.DHHS@maine.gov , or call OCFS at 207-624-7900 or Diane Nicholson directly at 207-624-7996.
The State of Maine provides the necessary 1099 tax form annually. This 1 form will include all money received from the state. (such as subsidy and grant)
OCFS would like to remind ALL eligible state of Maine child care providers to apply for the ARPA grant. If you are open and providing direct care to children apply now. If you have already applied, you DO NOT need to apply again. You only need to apply once for this grant. The grant application: https://appengine.egov.com/apps/me/dhhs/arpagrant. This ARPA Grant provides monthly payments through Sept. 2022 to providers providing direct care.
Maine DHHS Announces $73 Million in Grants to Support Maine’s Child Care Providers
August 31, 2021 ARPA Child Care Stabilization Grant Memo and Webinar (PDF). Information on grant with link to the powerpoint walk through on applying.
ARPA Grant application: https://appengine.egov.com/apps/me/dhhs/arpagrant
This grant can be updated every month if necessary.
To report changes in staffing or QRIS Step designations please email ARPAChildCareGrants.DHHS@maine.gov or call Diane Nicholson at (207) 626-7996. If emailing include your name, business name, License # and the reason reaching out for a change. If it’s staffing increase or decrease state the old number and the new number.
Do Not let your license expire! Monthly grant award stops until your renewal is back in place.
10/5/2021 ~ FCCAM PLC reached out to ask about how providers would receive grant payments. Here is the response we received: “If they are set up for direct deposit they will receive payment that way, if not they will receive a check in the mail. Payments will start at the end of October. We will be updating info /FAQs/ etc within the next few weeks.”
Providers need to be prepared to keep clear records around the grant funds.
Clarifying on “staff bonuses” – the monthly grant payment covers the preceding month. Payment received in Oct. ’21 is staff bonus payments for staff employed by you in Sept.’21. If that employee has left your employ in Oct. the payment still needs to be provided to them.
The following information pertains to the American Rescue Plan Stabilization Grant that will be paid out monthly for a year, starting Oct. 2021. Federal guidance identifies who is eligible for the stabilization grant money and what expenses the money can be used for. Each state can set up how they administer the stabilization grant. The Stabilization Grant is the third grant to come about because of COVID-19. It is separate from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES Act)/ March 27, 2020 and the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2021 (CRRSA Act) / December 29, 2020. ~ Info chart on the 3 grant programs
This grant is income and will need to be claimed as such on your federal and Maine state tax. As a grant you do not need to repay it. The increase in your income may impact your health insurance if you purchase it through the Affordable Care Act. Check with your insurance program. For any provider under full retirement age who claims Social Security benefits while working you can earn up to $18,960 in 2021 without it reducing Social Security benefits.
Below are some of the key notes around dates and grant totals. Check the linked August 3rd memo above for guidance on how you can spend funds, staff bonus guidance, and eligibility requirements.
The grants will be administered for 12-months with the first installment of payments to begin October 2021 through September 2022. All licensed child care providers and Child Care Subsidy Program (CCSP) license-exempt non-relative providers are eligible to apply. The application will be on a rolling basis. Those programs approved will only be required to apply once.
Providers may apply for the first instalment of grants if they are providing direct child care by September 1, 2021. Future payments will be automatic. Programs with short-term closures due to their response to COVID-19 cases are eligible to apply. All licensed and CCSP license-exempt nonrelative child care providers who are open and providing direct care by September 1, 2021 are eligible to apply.
Providers must supply on the application their program’s estimated current total monthly expenses.
Payments will be based on the following:
- Licensed capacity
- o $100 per licensed slot per month
- o License-exempt, nonrelative providers will be reimbursed based on capacity of 2 slots
- Additional funds for higher quality levels
- o Step 1- $50 per month
- o Step 2 – $100 per month
- o Step 3- $150 per month
- o Step 4- $200 per month
- CCSP providers
- o $150 per month
- Providing nontraditional hours of care
- o 6PM to 6AM or weekend hours will receive $100 per month
- Staff bonuses
- o $200 per staff per month and funds must be paid directly to staff
(Staff Bonus Guidelines)…”staff eligible to receive the staff bonus are those staff that are providing direct care to children (excluding volunteers), owners, and directors”… ~ Family child care providers are to classify themselves as staff.
Programs wishing to update their status on any of the above after initial approved application will be able to do so through self-reporting options. More details will follow prior to the open application period.
The grant application will be posted online. Updates with the link to the application will be announced in the near future.
Grants will be provided through a one-time application. Providers who do not complete the application by the deadline or are newly licensed after each monthly installment of the grant, will be eligible to apply for future payments. Updates and future enrollment periods will be posted under the Child Care Subsidy section on the OCFS COVID-19 Response website.
Providers with multiple facilities must complete separate applications for each site.
Grant funds are considered taxable income. Grant funds and staff bonuses will be subject to all state and federal tax. All questions regarding state and federal tax, programs should contact their financial professional/accountant.
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