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Assistance comes as 1 in 4 Early Learning Sites in Philadelphia Report Risk of Closure/Consolidation this Fall

Philadelphia, Nov 2, 2021 – To help Philadelphia-area early childhood centers continue operating this fall, Reinvestment Fund has awarded a third round of relief aid totaling $1.5 million under the Philadelphia Emergency Fund for Stabilization of Early Education (PEFSEE). Since launching in April 2020, PEFSEE has provided $8.3 million in emergency grants to 416 childcare providers in Philadelphia.

Initially funded through grants from the William Penn Foundation and Vanguard’s Strong Start for Kids Program™, PEFSEE has since received additional funding from PNC Bank, Wells Fargo, and individual contributors. The program supports Philadelphia childcare providers who are struggling to sustain their businesses and early learning support for families through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since April 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic and the evictions moratorium have drastically reduced Landlord-Tenant court activity, allowing Philadelphia renters to stay in their homes during a period when an eviction would subject them to risk of contracting and spreading the virus. If the moratorium set to expire on July 31st 2021 is not extended, notwithstanding innovations like pre-filing mediation and rental assistance, there will be a backlog of cases to process in court and the amount of pressure under which at least some tenants (and landlords) will be operating will be heightened. It is a critically important time to address decisions around court procedures and resources to ensure that the eviction process operates in a way that is both fair and efficient for all parties. Our newest research brief looks at the process in Philadelphia and identifies ways in which the court experience can be improved and made more equitable for both tenants and landlords as the city emerges from the pandemic.