ACCESS is a partnership between Reinvestment Fund and Public Health Management Corporation (PHMC), with funding from Vanguard Strong Start for Kids Program™. The program aims to increase the number of children receiving care in positive learning environments in Childcare Map (CC Map) persistent high-need neighborhoods by supporting STAR 1 and 2 providers with longstanding community backing to invest in their facilities and move up in the STARS system.
The program aims to support 20 providers, who are actively engaged in quality improvement initiatives, over a three-year period by offering improvement supports (for 15 providers) and expansion supports (for 5 providers).
In addition, the Coaching to Success (C2S) community of practice will be a free resource open to providers city-wide:
There will be three cohorts throughout the program (2023 – 2025). These cohorts are open to licensed STAR 1 and 2 child care providers in Philadelphia involved in current quality improvement initiatives and looking to make facility improvements, such as purchasing additional furniture or completing minor renovations, at their existing site.
Eligibility:
Priority consideration will be given to sites in CC Map persistent high-need neighborhoods, and to centers with a licensed capacity of 40+.
The ACCESS program will support one cohort of five childcare providers looking to expand the number of children they serve as they move up in STARS. This cohort is open to licensed STAR 1 and 2 Child Care Center, Home and Group providers in Philadelphia involved in current quality improvement initiatives and looking to expand the number of children they serve either on-site or at a new site in center-based care.
Eligibility:
Priority consideration will be given to sites expanding to serve their current neighborhood, with a projected licensed capacity of 65+ at their site, and to projects on a shorter timeline.
High-need neighborhoods were identified as areas with clusters of high family poverty rates and consistent lack of access to licensed childcare on CC Map over the past seven years. This analysis identified nine high-need zip codes: 19120, 19123, 19131, 19132, 19133, 19139, 19141, 19142, and 19151. Please review this map for further details.
Resources
Contact
Please reach out if you think you may be eligible and are interested in these opportunities: ACCESS@phmc.org