Search

Chattanooga Child Care Centers Receive Grants, Over $2 Million

Chattanooga City Council recently passed grants to support the child care industry’s economic recovery from COVID-19. The approved Head Start and Early Head Start grants allocate over $2 million to support local child care services, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reports.

Head Start and Early Head Start are federally-funded programs managed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that assist low-income families with child care. Their efforts provide education and early-development resources for children under five years old.

A Chattanooga 2.0 report explains that while 90% of a child’s brain develops before kindergarten, only 1 in 4 Hamilton County children attend an early learning program. Research shows one-fifth of Chattanooga children under 5-years-old live in poverty, and tuition for these early-development programs is unaffordable for a large segment of the population.

The child care industry is currently struggling to retain talent, with child care workers earning in the lowest 2% of all professions, per The Washington Post. Reports show the industry is down 126,700 employees since the start of the pandemic. Over 10,000 workers have left the child care industry since June, and one third of workers expect to leave within the year in search of more sustainable employment. Because of the high cost and inaccessibility of child care, some families are finding it more affordable to stay home rather than continue working.

Low attendance of these programs pose a risk to the child care industry as worker wages exponentially decrease and care facilities become scarce. Chattanooga Times Free Press reveals the Head Start and Early Head Start grants will fund services to 318 local children, enabling more affordable access to early-learning programs.

The Head Start and Early Head Start grants encourage participation in early-development programs by allowing child care workers to earn livable wages and create opportunities for more affordable care to children across Chattanooga. Approval of these grants also supports the Chattanooga 2.0 initiatives of providing young adults with a thriving wage.

Learn more about Head Start and Early Head Start, here.

Learn more about Chattanooga 2.0, here.

Image

Other Topics

In 2023, Microsoft changed the tech landscape of Chattanooga with a $50,000 grant called TechSpark. As a TechSpark partner, the Chattanooga Chamber received resources and support as it expanded and strengthened our tech start-up scene. Here at the Chamber, we…

Chattanooga is full of entrepreneurship opportunities. Since 2001, Pathway Lending has been helping local small businesses grow and thrive in Hamilton County and beyond. Founded in 1999, Pathway is a community development financial institution (CDFI) that offers financing and coaching…

Each year, the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce relies on a valuable group of volunteers who devote hours, time and energy to bridging the gap between business and community. We call them Ambassadors. For over 30 years, our Ambassadors have…

At the beginning of August 2023, I was entering the final stages of my time as a marketing major at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. As I began to prepare for life after graduation, I was eager to secure…

In a city brimming with entrepreneurial spirit, Tennessee Valley Federal Credit Union’s (TVFCU) annual Idea Leap Grant program connects local business owners with funding to propel their businesses forward. This year, the competition reached new heights, recognizing outstanding businesses that…

In today’s challenging economy, more than one in three working households in Hamilton County struggle to make ends meet. More than 9,500 households with children are living in financial hardship. These families fall into the category known as ALICE: Asset-Limited,…

Sign up for weekly updates.