Governor Kathy Hochul today announced that applications are open for $500 million from the FY 2024 Budget to bolster New York’s child care workforce through the Workforce Retention Grant Program. Funding will support approximately 150,000 direct child care staff through financial incentives ranging from $2,300 to $3,000 in retention and referral bonuses per staff for existing staff as well as sign-on bonuses for new staff.
The Online application portal is posted on the OCFS website:
https://ocfs.ny.gov/programs/childcare/grants/workforce-grant/
Applications opened 7/26/23 and must be submitted by 9/15/23. This is one grant, comprised of two components. The first is the staff retention bonus, which must be paid to staff, and the second is staff recruitment expenses and payroll tax assistance.
Staff retention awards must be paid directly to the eligible staff in full and the amount must be equal to the per staff amount detailed by OCFS
The Chinese-American Planning Council is one of the four Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies (CCR&R) in New York City who are contracted to provide technical assistance with grant applications. We will have grant info sessions throughout August. Our CCR&R staff are available to answer any questions you may have:
Matthew Li at 212-941-0030 ext. 284 mli3@cpc-nyc.org
Charlie Tam, 212-941-0030 ext. 225, ctam@cpc-nyc.org
Xiao Wu, 212-941-0030 ext. 246, xwu@cpc-nyc.org
