Child care centers and essential workers with kids get federal help during pandemic

Maine has received nearly $11 million in federal money to support essential workers and child-care providers during the pandemic.

Photo credit: Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

Tamara Gallagher typically looks after a dozen children at Growing Tree Childcare, which she operates out of her home in Westbrook.

Since the coronavirus outbreak, however, that number has dwindled to three to five per day.

“It’s been a struggle for parents,” Gallagher said. “Some parents can’t pay. Some parents lost their jobs. And then there are some who are essential workers.”

Some relief arrived Wednesday with the news that Maine received nearly $11 million in federal funding to support access to child care for the state’s essential workers and to provide relief for child care providers in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The money is part of the CARES Act and comes through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for the Children and Families’ Child Care and Development Block Grant program…

Read The Portland Press article here.