(COLUMBUS, Ohio)—Following his announcement in the 2024 State of the State Address, today Governor Mike DeWine and the Ohio Department of Children and Youth  provided additional details of Ohio’s new $85 million Child Care Access Grant program to increase the availability of licensed child care.

The Child Care Access Grants are designed to do the following:

• Increase capacity by creating new programs or expanding existing programs.
• Complete building repairs.
• Provide additional training to staff and families to support children with special needs.

Applications close on April 26, 2024 at 5 p.m. Award notifications will be made in early May, 2024. Applications can be submitted through the Ohio Professional Registry, via the program’s organizational dashboard at registry.occrra.org.  For more information, go to Early Care and Education Access Grants – OCCRRA.