All News & StoriesThanks to the generous support of Glick Philanthropies, Child Care Answers is awarding $300,000 to twelve child care programs to increase availability and create equitable child care opportunities for Marion County families.
INDIANAPOLIS, April 3, 2024 – In an effort to provide support and resources for existing and emerging providers, Child Care Answers partnered with Glick Philanthropies to launch the Strengthen Indy Child Care Grant. This partnership creates opportunities for aspiring child care providers to start their child care programs and for existing providers to expand and improve the quality of their programs in eleven high-need zip codes. According to Early Learning Indiana’s Closing the Gap report, the targeted zip codes include areas where as little as 20% of children who need care can be served by licensed or regulated child care programs. Through their grant projects, awardees will be able to increase the availability of early child care and education and create equitable child care opportunities for families in these high-need areas in Marion County.
“Families in Indianapolis do not have enough quality, affordable early childhood care options available,” said Marianne Glick, chair of the Glick Family Foundation. “Child Care Answers’ Strengthen Indy Child Care Grant program empowers newly-opened and expanding child care providers to serve more children in some of the neighborhoods with the greatest need. Glick Philanthropies is proud to support such an innovative approach to an essential need – for our children, our families, and our entire community.”
The goal of this initiative is for awardees to use their funding to increase both child care capacity and the quality of their child care program. Through an application process opened to identified zip codes, Child Care Answers selected twelve newly-opening or existing child care programs who were willing to meet the greatest needs in Indianapolis by providing care for infants and toddlers and accepting Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) vouchers for low-income families. Awardees will also be required to demonstrate their commitment to quality by enrolling in the Paths to QUALITY rating and improvement system and working towards a level three rating or higher to be recognized by the state of Indiana as a high-quality program.
Child Care Answers staff will support awardees throughout the next eight months with onsite visits, coordination of networking with peer child care providers, and connection to much-needed resources.
“While all of our recipients have a true passion for children, they will also be operating a small business, oftentimes without specific training on how to do so,” said Mollie Smith, executive director of Child Care Answers. “This is where we step in to support, providing awardees access to the tools and resources to create sustainable businesses that will be able to serve families and children well into the future.”
Awardees of the Strengthen Indy Child Care Grant include:
- Director: Terrie Hedeen at Bethany Early Learning
- Owner/Director: Karen Souki at Chiki’s Child Care
- Director: Dietrich Jackson at Fervent Care Child Care
- Director: Fannie Cooper at The Academy for Young Achievers
- Owner/Director: Julie Mawi at Chinsuh Child Care
- Owner/Director: Julie Mawi at Chinsuh Child Care III
- Director: Larissa Conley at Calvary Christian Child Care
- Director: Angie Collier at Diversity Kids Preschool
- Director: Abigail Sweeney at Jewish Community Center’s Early Childhood Education Program
- Owner/Director: Cheryl Blunt at Kid’s Retreat
- Director: Cynthia Jarret at Skool Kidz Early Education Academy
- Owner/Director: Philisia Marbles at P’s Playhouse
To learn more about the Strengthen Indy Child Care Grant, visit childcareanswers.org/strengthenindy.
About Child Care Answers
Child Care Answers grows with you. Since 1985, Child Care Answers has been a free go-to resource for all things child care in central Indiana – a hand to hold for families, child care professionals, and community partners. Families turn to them to find trusted child care and information about quality child care and early education. Child Care Answers also connects child care providers to the resources and tools they need to start their own professional care and expand their existing programs. They ensure that community partners, employers, and policy makers have access to a platform that amplifies their own work and creates awareness around a shared vision – making the essential accessible to all. Connect today at childcareanswers.org.
About Glick Philanthropies
Glick Philanthropies is an Indianapolis-based family of charitable initiatives dedicated to building community and creating opportunity that empowers every person to reach their full potential. Glick Philanthropies includes Glick Family Foundation, Glick Housing Foundation, the Glick Fund at Central Indiana Community Foundation (CICF), and the Glick Fund at Jewish Federation of Greater Indianapolis (JFGI). Since 1982, they have awarded $320 million to charitable causes in Central Indiana and communities where Gene B. Glick Company operates. For more information, visit glickphilanthropies.org.
