Indiana’s new Build, Learn, Grow Summer Scholarship

• Summer Scholarship Family Application
• Submit a Summer Scholarship Claim
• Promote to Families

Program Details

• What is the Build, Learn, Grow Summer Scholarship program?

  Indiana’s Build, Learn, Grow Summer Scholarship program helps families access high-quality summer enrichment, education, and camps to support their children – building reliable child care infrastructure, creating opportunities for remediation and support needed due to lost instructional time during the pandemic, providing protective factors offered in high-quality programs, and ensuring readiness for the 2022-2023 academic year. The Build, Learn, Grow Summer Scholarship program offers families that work in essential businesses scholarships toward their children’s summer learning.

• What do scholarships cover?

  Scholarships cover up to 80% of a child’s tuition at an eligible summer program, from May 23, 2022-August 12, 2022.

• How many scholarships are available?

  The Indiana Office of Early Childhood and Out-of-School Learning — in partnership with the Indiana Afterschool Network— is offering 4,000 Build, Learn, Grow summer scholarships to Hoosier families working in essential businesses.

• How many scholarships can a family receive?

  A family can receive one scholarship per eligible child.

• How long does the Build, Learn, Grow Summer Scholarship program run?

  The Build, Learn, Grow Summer Scholarship program will run from May 23, 2021-August 12, 2022.

• How can programs promote summer scholarships to families in their community?

  Programs and individuals can promote the Build, Learn, Grow Summer Scholarship program to families via email, text, and social media using resources found in this toolkit.
  

Eligibility

• Who qualifies for a Build, Learn, Grow summer scholarship?

  To qualify for a summer scholarship, at least one adult in the household must work in an essential business and enroll their child in an eligible summer learning program. Essential businesses include health care, human services, education, retail, restaurant and food service, essential infrastructure, media, manufacturing and logistics, religious and charitable organizations, and many others. A full, detailed list can be found here.

  Children must be age 5 or older by 8/1/2022 and plan to attend kindergarten or a higher grade in Fall 2022 to participate in the Summer Scholarship program. A child must be enrolled for at least 3 days per week for the program to claim that week. If the child is eligible and has been previously awarded a Build, Learn, Grow scholarship, the family should keep the same scholarship percentage previously awarded.
  

• Do families that already enrolled in summer programs and meet eligibility criteria qualify?

  Yes, families already enrolled in qualifying summer programs qualify if at least one family member works in an essential business.

• Do both parents and/or guardians have to be essential workers to qualify?

  Only one family member in the household needs to work in an essential business for the family to be eligible for a Build, Learn, Grow summer scholarship.

• What if a family member is not classified as an essential worker?

  The Build, Learn, Grow Summer Scholarship program is specifically for families of essential workers. Only one family member must work in an essential business to qualify. Additional resources and supports may be available for those who do not work in essential businesses. Click here for more information.

• What if a family’s income is less than 128% of FPL?

  If a family’s income is below 128% of Federal Poverty Level, they do not qualify for a summer scholarship. Instead, they are eligible to apply for Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) assistance. To apply for CCDF assistance, visit Early Ed Connect to start the application.

Application Process

• How does a family receive a scholarship?

  Eligible families should complete the Build, Learn, Grow Summer Scholarship application found here (haz clic aquí para la forma en español) and then print and deliver it with pay stubs or an income verification form (found here, haz clic aquí para la forma en español) to their child’s program. From there, the program will submit the claim to collect the scholarship on a family’s behalf. Programs should also have hard copies of the form available for completion.

• How does a family calculate their income eligibility?

  Scholarship amounts are based on total monthly household income before taxes and deductions. View this chart to calculate your family’s income eligibility based on household size.

• What does a family have to provide with their application to prove income eligibility?

  When submitting an application, the family must either provide pay stubs or an income verification form (found here, haz clic aquí para la forma en español) to show their family’s income. Families should submit the family application and income documentation to their summer program. Income documentation should include proof of income for all wage earners in the household and include all sources of income. For example, families should include proof of child support payments, alimony, and social security income. If there are two adults in the household, families should include pay stubs for both.

• Which summer learning programs accept the scholarships?

  Build, Learn, Grow summer scholarships are accepted by participating summer learning programs across the state. Families should talk to their program to ask if they are participating.

• Who should families contact with questions?

  For support completing an application, contact the Brighter Futures Indiana Solution Center via email, phone or chat, Monday-Thursday 8 am-7 pm and Friday 8 am-5 pm.

  Call (800) 299-1627, email Solutioncenter@earlylearningindiana.org or live chat at https://brighterfuturesindiana.org.

• If a family needs help finding care, who should they contact?

  Families who need help finding care can contact their local Child Care Resource and Referral agency here.

Claim Process

• What is required for programs to participate?

  To participate in the Build, Learn, Grow Summer Scholarship program, programs must be CCDF eligible and serve school-age youth, ages 5-12.

• How do programs claim scholarships?

  Programs will claim scholarships by submitting claim forms after collecting a family’s application and verifying their eligibility. Find the link for the provider claim form for the Summer Scholarship program here.

• What if a program already extended children with an awarded scholarship on a 04/02-06/30 claim?

  Programs may submit a summer scholarship claim to extend coverage for eligible children through 08/12/22 as long as dates of service do not overlap with any previously submitted claims.

• Can programs submit new children for the summer program?

  Programs may submit new family applications for the summer program. Please ensure that families complete the Build, Learn, Grow summer scholarship application found HERE, gather pay stubs and/or income verification, and meet eligibility prior to submitting a claim.

• Can programs allow a family to start before their claim is approved?

  Programs may, at their discretion, allow a child to start before their claim is approved. However, if the claim is not approved, the program will be responsible for the tuition.

• Can programs extend the scholarship after August 12, 2022?

  No – the Summer Scholarship program is only in effect until August 12, 2022.

• What should programs expect after submitting a claim?

  Programs will receive an automatic response from Submittable confirming receipt of their claim. If a program does not see a confirmation email in their inbox, please check the spam/junk folder for the email connected to the Submittable account.

• How can someone receive training on how to complete a claim for a summer scholarship?

  Claim are completed by programs. Programs seeking training on completing a claim can view the recorded training here. If additional assistance is needed, please email SCHOLARSHIP@indianaafterschool.org.
  

• When can programs submit claims?

  Programs should submit claim forms after collecting a family’s application with pay stubs (or income verification form) and verifying their eligibility.
  

• Can programs backdate children prior to the date of claim submission?

  Claims may be backdated to the first day the child was enrolled in the program, and the earliest date that may be claimed is May 23, 2022. For example, a claim submitted on June 10 may be backdated to May 31, for children who were enrolled on May 31.

• The claim application asks for the weekly rate of care for each child claimed. Should a program enter the full rate or 80% of the full rate in this field?

  Programs should input the full weekly rate of care for this child. During the review of the claim, we will calculate 80% of the full rate to process the claim. (See also FAQ about how to handle two different rates for the same child.)

• What do programs do if a child has a planned tuition change while on the scholarship?

  Programs may charge different rates for different types of summer programming, or children may age into a different tuition level while on the scholarship. If there is a planned tuition change, programs should calculate and submit the average of the entire period claimed.

• If a family situation has changed for a child with an approved scholarship, can a program request the family’s scholarship percentage be re-evaluated for the summer scholarship?

  In this instance, programs should submit a new summer scholarship claim for the child, including all updated information, a new family application, and recent income verification. The child can be re-evaluated under the new circumstances.

• Who should programs contact with questions?

  For support completing a claim, contact the Brighter Futures Indiana Solution Center via email, phone or chat, Monday-Thursday 8 am-7 pm and Friday 8 am-5 pm.

  Call (800) 299-1627, email Solutioncenter@earlylearningindiana.org or live chat at https://brighterfuturesindiana.org.

Payments and Reporting

• What if a family leaves the program before their planned end date?

  Build, Learn, Grow Summer Scholarship funds may be used to pay for any expenses that would have otherwise been covered by tuition fees. If a family disenrolls (or changes frequency and therefore rate) prior to the end of the period covered by the claim, funds may be applied to operating expenses (including staffing, materials, supplies and facilities expenses) used to carry out the program’s educational services. Refer to the Terms and Conditions for more information. Please confirm the child’s enrollment before submitting a claim.

• What are programs expected to track or report?

  Programs will submit a report at the end of the claim period. Programs should track and report the following: a detailed accounting of any funds associated with early disenrollments and how such funds were spent consistent with the Allowable Early Disenrollment Expenses; a description of whether each child receiving a Build, Learn, Grow summer scholarship remained in the program following the expiration of the scholarship; and family testimonials about the impact that Build, Learn, Grow summer scholarships had on their ability to work and their children’s ability to learn.

• What if a family can’t afford their co-pay?

  If a family cannot afford their co-pay, it is the provider’s discretion to waive the family’s co-pay or provide them with financial assistance.

• What happens if a family cannot afford to continue care after their scholarship ends?

  The provider may, at their discretion, decide to offer the family financial assistance on their own.