TUCSON, Ariz. — A child care scholarship is now accepting applications from families living in Tucson.
Tucson’s mayor and council approved $500,000 of CARES Act funding for the child care scholarship. Up to $2,275 will be granted per child, under the age of twelve. There is no limit to the number of children in a family.
“It is very deliberate in terms of how we can help working families in our community. And it's anyone in the city of Tucson that needs help to pay for childcare,” said Mayor Regina Romero.
Child care is a suffering business during this pandemic, and Romero says this scholarship is a win-win.
“What we are trying to do here at the Mayor and Council is is really help the child care industry. It's helping small child care providers and it's helping working families, if they have been affected by COVID-19. So it really is an investment in both a small business and a family,” said Romero.
Priority will be given to individuals and families who have not yet received any state or federal COVID-19 relief money and have experienced financial hardship impacting their ability to pay for child care.
“We just wanted to make sure that it was a help in a time where we are seeing a lot of instability, a lot of question marks about the future of our economy here locally, and we thought this would absolutely help a family out to at least have one less worry,” said Romero.
The Catholic Community Services of Southern Arizona is facilitating this scholarship. The program runs through the end of December or until funds are no longer available.