Allowable Expenses | ARPA Stabilization Grant Update

The Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) is making American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Stabilization Grants available to eligible child care providers. Previous updates can be found on the ARPA Stabilization Grants page on the Pennsylvania Key website. Topics include

1. How to prepare for the grant application.
2. Who is eligible.

This Update will help eligible providers better understand how they can spend Stabilization Grant funds. In addition, Deputy Secretary, Tracey Campanini, will host an Allowable ARPA Stabilization Grant Expenses Webinar live on Sept. 8, 2021, at 6:00 pm, to answer questions around this topic. To register click here. The webinar will be recorded and shared back through this newsletter and will appear on the ARPA Stabilization Grants page.

Allowable Stabilization Grant Expenses Stabilization Grant funding can be used for a wide range of COVID-19 related expenses incurred in the past, present, or future. This includes expenses incurred on or after January 31, 2020, which you have not paid for with other grant funds. Funds can also go towards expenses you anticipate as a result of the ongoing impacts of COVID-19 on your program.
For organizational purposes, OCDEL encourages programs to think about their past, current and future expenses in the following categories:

• Personnel Costs;
• Rent/Mortgage and Utilities;
• Facilities Maintenance and Insurance (excluding major renovations);
• Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), Cleaning and other Health and Safety Practices;
• Equipment and Supplies;
• Goods and Services; and
• Mental Health Supports for Employees and Children.

This update provides a high-level overview of allowable expenses for the ARPA Stabilization Grant funds. To better understand how best to use the funds in your program, we suggest you:

• Register and attend Deputy Secretary Campanini’s Allowable ARPA Stabilization Grant Expenses Webinar live on Sept. 8, 2021, at 6:00 pm or the recording that will be available on the ARPA Stabilization Grants page on the Pennsylvania Key website.
• Refer to the FAQ that will be developed and shared based on questions asked during the webinar
• If you have administrative or fiscal staff, begin to talk with them about how best to use the grant funds
• Reach out to your ELRC for help with thinking about how to best use these funds in your program (find your ELRC)

Stay Tuned!
Next week’s Stabilization Grant Update will help eligible providers understand what you will be required to track and report back on.

See past and upcoming Announcements regarding OCDEL ARPA Stabilization Grants here.