An update from the Director of the Kentucky Division of Child Care on March 16, 2020:
I want to start today by saying thank you to the thousands of child care providers throughout the state of Kentucky who are working so hard to take care of our children. As a parent of two young children, I want you to know that I appreciate your hard work and your sacrifices. After working in the field of early childhood education for the past twenty-two years, I can officially say that I have never seen anything like the pandemic crisis that we are currently facing, and I know that you have not experienced anything of this nature in your career either. I can assure you that our Governor and his senior leadership team are doing everything possible to make the best decisions for our children and families. Because of the continuously changing nature of this situation, information may be changing on a daily basis, so I encourage everyone to continue to watch the COVID-19 website for continual updates and information from daily press conferences.
The Division of Child Care has asked the national Office of Child Care for an amendment to our state plan to allow Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) funding for CCAP eligible families based on enrollment and NOT on attendance. This request would last through the State of Emergency and be in place regardless if your center is open or closed. We have also asked for an amendment for the Division of Child Care to cover the cost of parent co-payments during the State of Emergency to ensure financial security for centers and for families. Please remember to use the billing code 45 for emergencies.
As more decisions are made, the Division of Child Care will continue to send out updates. Remember to take care of yourselves during this crisis!
Sarah Taylor Vanover, Ed.D.
Director
Division of Child Care
Department of Community Based Services
275 East Main Street, 3C-F
Frankfort, KY 40621
(502) 564-2524