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Helping Families Access High-Quality Child Care
The Build, Learn, Grow Scholarship program launched in April 2021, providing financial support to Indiana families to help children access high-quality early childhood education and out-of-school care following the COVID-19 pandemic. Since its launch, nearly 16,000 children and their families have enrolled in the scholarship program, and more than 1,700 providers have benefitted from increased enrollment. As the program comes to an end, Indiana is working to provide continued support to vulnerable scholarship families by temporarily expanding Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) assistance and encouraging providers to support families more broadly through recent Stabilization Grant funds.
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Continued Support for Scholarship Families
As Build, Learn, Grow scholarships come to an end, many worry hard-working families will not be able to shoulder the financial burden of paying for high-quality care. To address this need and support families’ ability to continue working and keeping their children learning, the Office of Early Childhood and Out-of-School Learning (OECOSL) is providing temporary CCDF eligibility for more than 1,500 scholarship families enrolled in participating school-age programs with incomes at or below 85% of state median income. Providers should work with eligible families to complete and submit a basic application form on their behalf as soon as possible, which will then be reviewed and processed by local CCDF eligibility offices. Siblings in the household under age 13 are also eligible for CCDF assistance.
The deadline to apply for families receiving school-age/summer scholarships is Aug. 5. Apply as soon as possible to avoid any gaps in families’ coverage.
Please note the deadline to apply for early childhood scholarships has passed. CCDF eligibility offices are currently reviewing submitted applications.
CCDF eligibility offices are actively reviewing transition applications.
Due to the high volume received, families and providers should anticipate a delay in hearing about their application. For an update on the status of an application, please reach out to the eligibility office for your region. Click here for contact information.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Who is eligible to apply for CCDF assistance through the Build, Learn, Grow scholarship fund?
To be eligible for this opportunity, families must apply through their provider and meet the following criteria:
- Currently enrolled in the Build, Learn, Grow Scholarship program
- Attending a participating school-age program
- Have a household income at or below 85% of State Median Income.
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Where can I find more information about the CCDF program?
Learn more about the CCDF program at https://brighterfuturesindiana.org/parents/financial-support/help-paying-for-child-care.
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What is involved in the application process?
Providers should submit an application on behalf of eligible and interested families using an online application form that is similar to the standard CCDF application. The application guide outlines the data and information that is required from providers and families. While providers may already have much of the information and documentation needed to submit the application, there are additional required pieces of information they will need to collect from families. Once the provider submits the application, the family should expect to hear about the status of their application within 10 business days*. Once approved, families will receive a 53-week voucher and the provider will be notified through the application portal.
* Please note: CCDF eligibility offices are processing a high volume of applications. Providers and families should anticipate a delay in hearing a decision on their voucher request.
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How can providers identify eligible scholarship families?
Providers should have received an email with a link to a list of eligible families. If you need further assistance, contact the SPARK Help Desk at (800) 299-1627, via email at help@indianaspark.com, or live chat on indianaspark.com or in My SPARK Learning Lab.
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Do eligible scholarship families have to transition to CCDF?
No, only eligible and interested families should apply. The state has set up this temporary benefit to provide transitional support. If a family is not interested, they should not have their provider apply for this temporary support on their behalf.
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How long will applications be accepted?
Applications will be accepted until Friday, Aug. 5, 2022, for school-age programs. Providers are encouraged to submit family applications early to avoid coverage gaps.
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Why does information for all children in the household have to be provided on the application?
Information for all children in the household helps calculate the family’s income for eligibility purposes. All children in the household under the age of 18 must be included in the application.
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If there are other children in the household, do they qualify for CCDF assistance?
Siblings under the age of 13 in the household of child enrolled in a qualifying scholarship opportunity are also eligible for CCDF assistance.
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Do other children in the household who qualify have to receive CCDF vouchers?
No, but it is available to them if they qualify.
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How long will it take for families to hear back?
Once a provider submits an application on behalf of the family, families will hear from a CCDF eligibility office within 10 business days*.
* Please note: CCDF eligibility offices are processing a high volume of applications. Providers and families should anticipate a delay in hearing a decision on their voucher request.
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How soon will vouchers take effect and providers begin receiving payments?
Vouchers for approved early childhood families will be effective July 3, 2022, and providers will receive their first payment on August 3, 2022. The first CCDF payment will cover services from July 3-16, 2022. Vouchers for approved school-age families will be effective Aug. 14, 2022, and providers will receive their first payment on Sept. 14, 2022. The first CCDF payment will cover services from Aug.14-27, 2022. Please note that in both cases, this creates a four-week gap between the end of the scholarship period and the first CCDF payment. Providers are not permitted to charge families for this gap as it will be covered in their first CCDF payment.
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Once the family transitions to CCDF, are they required to follow standard CCDF rules and procedures?
Yes, once a family transitions to CCDF, they are a CCDF family and all standard rules and requirements apply, including co-pays, swipe card activity, etc.
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The deadline is approaching and the family has not heard back from the CCDF eligibility office. What should we do?
Eligibility offices are working as quickly as they can to process applications, but due to the high volume, families may experience a delay. Families may contact their regional eligibility office to inquire about the status of their CCDF application.
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Who should I contact if I need help?
Providers who have questions about the application should consult the application guide. If you have additional questions, need support answering family questions or have a large number of applications to submit, contact the SPARK Help Desk at (800) 299-1627, via email at help@indianaspark.com, or live chat on indianaspark.com or in My SPARK Learning Lab. Providers with a high volume of applications may request onsite support to help families and expedite the application process.
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If a child was previously enrolled in the Build, Learn, Grow scholarship but has since disenrolled or transitioned to a summer scholarship, are they eligible for CCDF support?
Children who are currently enrolled in participating early childhood or school-age/summer programs are eligible. Children who have disenrolled are not eligible.
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Are there other assistance opportunities for scholarship families that fall outside the eligibility group?
To support families that fall outside the eligibility criteria, providers may use their Build, Learn, Grow Stabilization Grant funds, which also fulfills one of the requirements of the grant.
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Can families not on Build, Learn, Grow scholarships that meet the income criteria qualify for this opportunity?
No, families must be currently enrolled in the Build, Learn, Grow Scholarship program and actively attending a participating program.