COVID-19 Response Fund Awards Grant to Address Childcare Staffing Crisis

COVID-19 Response Fund Awards Grant to Address Childcare Staffing Crisis

Early childhood education and childcare are essential for working families and for our community’s economic future. The COVID-19 pandemic escalated already existing barriers to women’s economic participation, inequities for women and families of color. Child Care Consultants, Inc. reports that, from March 2020 to March 2021, 1,773 fewer children are enrolled in childcare programs in York County. Decreased enrollment is due to many factors, including a lack of staffing that prevents programs from operating at full capacity. In addition, more than 25 York County programs have permanently or temporarily closed.

The York County COVID-19 Response Fund is pleased to award a grant of $80,000 to Child Care Consultants (CCC) for recruitment and onboarding of early childhood education staff for multiple early education centers In York County. CCC will recruit job applicants, conduct the initial screenings and interviews, secure required clearances for applicants, facilitate trainings, and provide six months of coaching and mentoring support. The individual programs will then select and hire the applicants and provide their site-specific onboarding and training. The goal it to recruit and serve 100 applicants. Information on recruitment efforts will be forthcoming from CCC.

To date, the COVID-19 Response Fund, launched jointly by the York County Community Foundation (YCCF) and United Way of York County, has raised over $1,195,000 and awarded a total of $771,239 in grants.

“This grant supports important needs in our community in several ways,” said Lise Levin, Vice President for Community Investment for YCCF. “Our children will have well-trained, quality early childhood educators, parents will be able to return to work knowing their children are being looked after, and 100 people will have access to new jobs.”

“Ninety percent of a child’s brain is developed before they enter kindergarten at age 5, which highlights the critical importance of high-quality early childhood experiences,” said Anne Druck, President for United Way of York County. “And yet, 80% of children in York County don’t have access to high-quality early childhood programs. This support is a great step toward increasing the capacity of our early childhood centers to provide children in need with a great start, while also supporting York County families in maintaining or obtaining family-sustaining employment.”

Child Care Consultants, Inc. (CCC) is a non-profit child care resource and referral agency that serves as the Early Learning Resource Center (ELRC) for Regions 9 and 10 in Pennsylvania, which include York, Adams, Cumberland, Dauphin, Lancaster, Lebanon, and Perry Counties. ELRCs provide a single point-of-contact for families, early learning service providers, and communities to gain information and access services that support high-quality child care and early learning programs. Through the administration of both the Child Care Works and Keystone STARS programs, ELRCs create an enhanced resource and referral system for communities seeking early learning services and supports.

The COVID-19 Response Fund was seeded by a $100,000 lead gift from YCCF’s Fund for York County, the foundation’s most flexible fund designed to address the county’s greatest needs.  Additional major contributions have come from the W. Dale Brougher Foundation, Arthur J. & Lee R. Glatfelter Foundation, Powder Mill Foundation,  J William Warehime Foundation, Kinsley Foundation, Memorial Health Fund, Women’s Giving Circle, Harley-Davidson Foundation, the Donley Foundation, PECO, Wells Fargo, the Wolf Inaugural Fund and Carol D. Wagman.

There are many ways to support our community in this time of need.  Residents are encouraged to continue to support the charities they care about that are struggling with diminished revenue.

For more information about the fund, please visit https://yccf.org/covid-19responsefund/.

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About York County Community Foundation

York County Community Foundation creates a vibrant York County by engaging donors, providing community leadership, and investing in high-impact initiatives while building endowment for future generations. York County Community Foundation holds more than 575 endowed funds and assists donors and nonprofits in reaching their charitable goals. The Community Foundation granted $7.2 million in 2020 throughout York County and beyond, and stewards approximately $178 million in assets.

 

About United Way of York County

For 100 years, United Way of York County has worked in the York County community to improve people’s lives. It began as The York Welfare Federation, an organization that raised funds on behalf of 17 member agencies.  Today, as United Way of York County, the mission of raising community funds remains the same, but the strategies have evolved in order to meet the growing and changing needs of people living in York County.

 

United Way has adapted over the years and now collaborates with other public and private organizations to engage the community in addressing the complex issues facing York County. By developing initiatives that get at the root causes of these issues, United Way and its partners find solutions and fund programs that improve the quality of life for everyone in York County.  Through gifts to the Impact Fund, United Way invests those dollars into 64 programs supported by 34 Partner Agencies.  These programs address human services needs across three Focus Areas: Education, Health, and Economic Mobility.  This enables United Way to tackle the immediate and continuing needs of York County families and individuals and to create real, lasting change that matters to you and our community.