The Wyoming Community Foundation, in collaboration with other state organizations, has launched a new grant program to support childcare providers and address the ongoing shortage of childcare services across the state. The Childcare Provider Start-up Grant will provide up to $10,000 to eligible applicants for startup or expansion costs. The grant program prioritizes providers serving communities with limited or no childcare options and home-based providers.
Applicants must be licensed, working toward licensure, or willing to accept childcare subsidies, and can be either nonprofit or for-profit entities. Wyoming has experienced a significant decline in the number of childcare providers, dropping from 721 in 2014 to 527 in December 2024. A 2022 assessment estimated a nearly 30% gap between the potential need for care for children under 6 and the available supply.
This shortage has forced many parents to balance work and childcare responsibilities, with some even leaving the workforce entirely.
Wyoming childcare start-up grant program
Kristin Fong from the Wyoming Business Council, a member of the Interagency Childcare Working Group, emphasized the impact of the childcare shortage on the state’s workforce.
We’ve got approximately 10,000 people out of the workforce due to lack of access to child care,” Fong said. “What if those 10,000 people could rejoin the workforce?”
The grant program is part of a larger effort to address the childcare crisis in Wyoming, which has been exacerbated by factors such as staff turnover, low profits, and high living costs. The working group aims to learn from grantees about the challenges of providing care and offer support services that may currently be missing.
Mariah McGranahan, a childcare worker at the YMCA, and Kendra Barney, the Early Childhood Coordinator for Sheridan County School District 1, both highlighted the difficulties faced by local childcare providers in maintaining adequate staffing levels to meet the demand for their services. The Childcare Provider Start-up Grant is funded by a $50,000 grant from the John P. Ellbogen Foundation, $30,000 from the Wyoming Community Foundation’s early childhood grant, and other contributions.
The program is set to begin on January 1, 2025, with applications opening six times throughout the year.
