INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana is accepting applications for grants to support employer-sponsored child care.
The program is funded by $25 million in leftover COVID-19 pandemic funding. The goal is to help with Indiana's child care shortage.
The Center for American Progress said 55% of Hoosiers live in a "child care desert," which means there are few to zero child care providers.
In 2018, Early Learning Indiana estimated a lack of child care cost Indiana's economy $1.1 billion. That includes $119 million in lost tax revenue.
For families in Marion County, the shortage means child care can be more expensive than college — and the COVID-19 pandemic only made things worse.
On Oct. 18, an interim committee at the Indiana Statehouse approved a draft report on the child care situation in Indiana. The report calls on lawmakers to, among other things, subsidize child care workers, make their certification tuition-free and review child care regulation.
But while lawmakers debate what the state should do about the problem, employers can take action.
Through Nov. 22, employers can apply for the new grant program, run by the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration. You can find the eligibility requirements here.