FAQ
Getting started with childcare funding
The first questions every home provider and small center asks before applying for anything.
- Are the childcare stabilization grants still available?
- No. The federal ARP Child Care Stabilization Grants — $23.975 billion — are over. The funds were fully liquidated by September 30, 2023, ACF moved the guidance to its archive, and Congress has not enacted a replacement. A separate ARPA supplement let some states run stabilization-style rounds into 2024, but that tail also ended (liquidated by September 30, 2024). If a site tells you to 'apply for the federal stabilization grant' in 2026, it's describing a dead program. The honest afterlife — and what replaced it — is our most important guide.
- Where does childcare grant money actually come from, then?
- From your state. The federal government funds states through the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF); each state's lead agency turns that into provider-facing programs. You'll never apply to 'the federal government' for a childcare grant — you apply to a program your state runs with federal money. So the most useful search isn't 'childcare grants' — it's '[your state] child care lead agency grants' and '[your state] CCR&R.'
- What can I actually apply for right now?
- Think in four doors: subsidy reimbursement (get paid to serve subsidy-eligible children — the gateway), state quality and startup grants (funded by the CCDF quality set-aside, often through your CCR&R), CACFP (food reimbursement, year-round), and QRIS incentives (earn more per child by climbing quality tiers). On the private side, local United Ways run grant rounds you can apply to directly, and employers now have a big new tax reason to partner with you. Our framework walks each door.
- Do I have to be licensed?
- For almost everything, yes. Subsidy enrollment, quality grants, CACFP through a sponsor, Early Head Start partnerships, pre-K, employer cost-share programs, United Way rounds — nearly all require you to be licensed or state-approved. License-exempt providers are locked out of most funding. If you're not licensed, that's the single highest-leverage step you can take, because it opens every other door at once.
New to this? You’re not behind — most providers start exactly where you are, usually after searching for a stabilization grant that no longer exists. The questions below come up first for nearly everyone. When you’re ready, start with the honest story of what happened to the stabilization grants.
Next step
Get matched when we launch
Stalwell + Amivale is launching soon. Join the waitlist and we'll match your childcare providers to funding the day it opens — no spam, one email.