Your childcare center is in a better financial position after the state issued its first funding awards for its Child Care Bridge Payments Program. According to the Evers Administration, funds from this first month’s payment, totaling $8.7 million, were awarded to more than 3,100 providers across the state and will support the retention of 25,531 staff and the care of 126,181 kids. More $30,000 went to seven childcare centers in Door County, and another $20,000 went to 11 providers in Kewaunee County. As the program’s name suggests, the program is designed to give childcare centers in the state a lifeline once the Child Care Counts Program winds down. Karen Corekin-DeLaMer from Northern Door Children’s Center in Sister Bay says the money comes at an important time for many of their families as the tourism season begins to wind down.

While the funding is nice for now, it is not permanent. Funding for the program is set to expire next summer. “While these new payments help connect the dots for Wisconsin families by lowering out-of-pocket costs and ensuring safe and reliable child care, they are not an end-all, be-all solution, which is why we must continue our efforts in finding common ground on means to address the challenges this industry faces in the long term,” Governor Tony Evers said during his tour of facilities around the state last week.