Kentucky providing more help to child care providers

Kentucky officials announced Wednesday the state will make one-time grants to licensed child care facilities and certified homes in an effort to keep the centers open.

Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services Secretary Eric Friedlander announced Wednesday additional financial assistance for child care providers. 

Friedlander said the state will make a one-time grant to licensed day cares and certified homes in the amount of $130 per child. “We believe that this will help keep some of those centers open, help keep some of them going.  And those fundings are primarily provided for employer wages, facility rent and rent payments, mortgages, utility payments, insurance payments, and then some of the additional costs that child care centers have had to incur through this COVID crisis,” said Friedlander.

Friedlander said it’s about $20 million in state support overall. The Health and Family Services secretary says these grants follow an earlier distribution to child care centers of $225 per child.​

During his coronavirus updates, Governor Beshear urges Kentuckians to wear masks when away from home.  The governor typically doesn’t wear a mask while he’s delivering information at the rotunda podium.  Beshear was asked if he would consider masking up while delivering the briefing.  “And as you all know we’ve tried to set up the rotunda to have people far away, but it’s a good point that perhaps wearing masks each time that we do this would send a good message,” said Beshear.

Beshear and State Public Health Commissioner Steven Stack do wear masks when they are not at the podium.  The governor reported 2,398 coronavirus cases Wednesday.  But he said that included 1472 backlogged cases from Fayette County over the last few months.  Subtracting the backlogged numbers, Beshear said the new cases totaled 926. He also reported five new deaths.

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Stu has been reporting for WEKU for more than 30 years.