Iowa Child Care Incentive Grant Program to encourage employers to offer child care as benefit

DES MOINES, Iowa (KCRG) - A new childcare business incentive program in Iowa will provide a total of $25 million to support childcare projects across the state.

Gov. Kim Reynolds announced the Child Care Business Incentive Grant Program on Wednesday.

$20 million of the program’s funding will go toward supporting local infrastructure investments to build or expand child care capacity, and the remaining $5 million will support arrangements between employers and child care facilities to expand and reserve child care slots.

Gov. Reynolds’ office says the program is intended to encourage employers to offer child care as a benefit to their employees. Potential projects could include the creation of on-site childcare centers, or partnerships with existing childcare centers to create childcare slots paid for by employers.

Reynolds launched the Child Care Task Force in March 2021 with the intended purpose of finding solutions to Iowa’s child care shortage.

“One of the top recommendations from my Child Care Task Force was to incentivize employer investment in child care,” Gov. Reynolds said. “This program will do just that by encouraging employers to help deliver child care solutions to their employees, thereby bolstering opportunities for recruitment and retention of workers.”

The governor’s office estimates the child care shortage costs the state roughly $935 million annually in lost tax revenue, worker absences and employee turnover.

For more information on the program, click here. Applications for the program will open on IowaGrants.gov on June 17.

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