Early Educator Wage Sustainability Application Details

Child Care Network is launching the Early Educator Wage Sustainability Grant to support licensed child care providers across Regions 6 and 9. This exciting opportunity provides monthly stipends to early educators—helping strengthen wages, stabilize programs, and ensure that every child and family has access to quality care.

Application Timeline

  • Applications Open: Friday, November 7, 2025

  • Applications Close: Sunday, November 30, 2025

  • Application Review: December 2025

  • Notification of Selection: By Friday, December 31, 2025

Who Can Apply

All licensed child care providers—including centers, group homes, family homes, Head Start, and Great Start Readiness Program (GSRP) classrooms—are eligible to apply.
If a program operates under multiple licenses, a separate application must be submitted for each license. (Please note that it is not guaranteed all licenses from one program will be selected.)

The stipend period will begin in January 2026 and continue monthly through August 2027:

  • $300/month for full-time early educators

  • $200/month for part-time early educators

We anticipate supporting approximately 150–200 early educators in each region.

Selection Process

All licensed programs will be invited to participate by completing an online application survey, which collects key data needed for evaluation.

After the application window closes, Child Care Network (CCN) will convene a review committee composed of at least five coalition members with no conflicts of interest. Each committee member will independently review and score applications using a standardized rubric. CCN staff will then review and verify all scores to ensure accuracy and consistency.

A minimum cut score will be established based on the number of applications and the overall score distribution. Programs meeting or exceeding this threshold will move into their county’s eligibility pool. Using a computerized, weighted selection process, final participants will be chosen within each county based on rubric scores to ensure fair, equitable representation across all areas.

Stipends will be allocated to each county according to the percentage of licensed programs located there. Within each county, stipends will be distributed relative to local application scores rather than across the entire region.

Selected programs will receive grant funds to distribute directly to eligible staff. By January 2026, participating providers must identify staff who qualify—program directors and teaching staff working in licensed classrooms—and confirm their interest in receiving stipends.
Participating programs will then submit monthly funding requests and payroll documentation verifying that stipends were distributed to eligible employees.

 

For questions about eligibility or the application process, please Contact Us