STABLE 4ward: Georgia’s Child Care Stabilization Program

Child Care Stabilization Funding

DECAL recognizes the critical role that child care plays in supporting children, families, businesses, and the economy as a whole. The purpose of STABLE is to respond to the urgent need to stabilize the child care sector in Georgia. Funded by supplemental Child Care Development Block Grant funds through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), this opportunity is intended to help stabilize the cost of maintaining child care programs by supporting the child care workforce, reducing the financial burden of child care for families and ensuring a safe and healthy environment.

Round 1 STABLE 4ward applications were accepted in October 2021

Round 2 STABLE 4ward applications were accepted in February 2022

Round 3 STABLE 4ward applications were accepted in June 2022

Round 4 STABLE 4ward applications will be accepted from October 17, 2022 until November 1, 2022.

Is my child care program able to apply for this funding?

The STABLE application is available for programs in the following categories because they have met all Office of Child Care health and safety requirements as of the date of their application submission.

Licensed Child Care Learning Centers
Licensed Family Child Care Learning Homes
Child Care Learning Centers that have been issued a Temporary License and have had an Initial Licensing Visit
Family Child Care Learning Homes that have been issued a Temporary License and have had an Initial Licensing Visit
Licensed child care partners for Head Start and/or Early Head Start grantees that are in the categories above

Programs in the following categories are NOT able to apply for STABLE.

Licensed-exempt programs
Child Care Learning Centers that have been issued a Temporary License without an Initial Licensing Visit
Family Child Care Learning Homes that have been issued a Temporary License without an Initial Licensing Visit
Providers with a ‘Pending’ status and an initial application
Providers with a ‘Pending’ status and has a Permit
Providers with a ‘Pending Closed’ status
Providers with a ‘Pending’ Change of Location application
Providers with a ‘Revocation Pending’ status
Informal Providers
Support Centers
Head Start grantees
Early Head Start grantees

How do I apply?

Child care programs that are able to apply will be able to do so at: https://www.decalkoala.com/Default.

For guidance on how to complete the application please refer to STABLE 4ward Application Guidance.

How can my program use this funding?

ARPA made stabilization the broad goal of the funding, however the Act also clearly prioritizes specific areas of provider operations and those are: wages and benefits of child care employees, tuition relief to families, and adhering to CDC guidelines to ensure health and safety. To ensure those priorities are carried forward with STABLE, recipients will be required to budget and spend their funding in the following categories:

Workforce Support: This category is intended for planned spending related to hiring and employing all child care staff. Allowable costs include but are not limited to salary and wages, health insurance benefits, life insurance benefits, flexible benefits such as dental or vision, the providers portion of federal and state taxes and withholdings, overtime wages, overtime bonuses, retention bonuses, referral bonuses, sign-on bonuses, vacation/holiday pay, and any other costs associated with hiring and employing staff. This category is also intended for planned spending on costs associated with employing substitute teachers, training for staff, and professional development, and mental health support for staff.
Relief for Families:This category is intended for planned spending that would be as a result of providing tuition relief and mental health support for families that are paying to maintain their child care slot at a program. Rather than an actual expense, this would likely be done by offering discounts or credits to families. Providers must document how they distribute funds for this category and will have to be able to show proof supporting this type of spending in the event of a STABLE audit.
Facilities Cost: This category is intended for planned spending related to the costs necessary to maintain the program’s facility. Allowable costs include but are not limited to lease payments, mortgage payments, building insurance, utilities, and facility maintenance. STABLE funds can be used for improvements to existing space but cannot be used for major construction or major renovation. Construction means the erection of a facility or space that does not currently exist. Major renovation means: (1) structural changes to the foundation, roof, floor, exterior or load-bearing walls of a facility, or the extension of a facility to increase its floor area; or (2) extensive alteration of a facility such as to significantly change its function and purpose, even if such renovation does not include any structural change.
Operational Supplies, Materials, and Food: This category is intended for planned spending related to ensuring that all programs can provide quality nutrition and that classrooms are safe, healthy, and nurturing educational spaces. Allowable costs include food services that are not reimbursed through another public funding stream such as the USDA Child and Adult Care Food Program, USDA Summer Nutrition Program, or Georgia’s Pre-K. Allowable supplies and materials costs include but are not limited to typical materials and supplies for classroom environments for all ages, furniture, books, art supplies, blocks and accessories, curriculum, as well as instructional technology. This category is also intended for planned spending related to the additional costs that may be incurred due to adhering to CDC guidance related to group size and space to prevent the spread of COVID 19. Allowable costs include but are not limited to cleaning services, cleaning supplies, obtaining personal protective equipment, or the costs of measures to limit contact between individuals.

When completing the application, applicants will not be allowed to budget more than 30% of their eligible funding to the two categories of: Facilities Cost and Operational Supplies, Materials, and Food. This will mean that 70% of the eligible funding must be budgeted to the remaining categories of: Workforce Support and Tuition Relief for Families.

STABLE recipients must use their stabilization funds for cost incurred in a manner consistent with their application budget. That said, providers will have some flexibility relative to the budget they submitted in their application. Ultimately, at least 70% of all STABLE funding must be used for Workforce Support and Relief for Families. Regardless of the budgeted percentage for these areas, providers will be able to spend funds as they see fit as long as they meet the 70% minimum. This mean that if a provider submits a budget of 35% for Workforce Support and 35% for Relief for Families, they can use the funds any way they chose in those two categories as long as 70% of all funding is used for those two categories. This means that no more 30% of all STABLE funding can be applied to cost for Facilities Cost and Operational Supplies, Materials, and Food.

In addition to budgeting and spending guidelines, ARPA requires that STABLE recipients commit to certain criteria as a condition of receiving stabilization funding. Applicants will be required to agree to the following affirmations when submitting their application:

This child care program will, when open and providing services, implement policies in line with rules, guidance, and orders from the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning and, to the greatest extent possible, implement, implement policies in line with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
This child care program will not involuntarily furlough employees and will ensure that all employees receive at least the same compensation of wages and benefits from the date of the application submission through the duration of the subgrant period. This does not apply in cases of separation, voluntary or involuntary, between the child care program and an employee.
This child care program will provide relief from copayments and tuition payments for the families enrolled in the program, to the extent possible, and prioritize such relief for families struggling to make either type of payment.

STABLE recipients will be required to reaffirm their commitment to these affirmations every three months when doing their required reconciliation reporting in DECAL KOALA.

How will my program get paid?

Maximus, Inc., DECAL’s current payment vendor for the CAPS program and prior STABLE payments, will continue to process STABLE payments on behalf of DECAL. Providers that have completed the CAPS annual renewal process in the last 12 months will not need to take any further action to receive their payment. Providers that received a previous STABLE payment will not need to take any further action to receive their payment unless they have a new bank account. All other providers will be required to complete the required payment verification process with Maximus, Inc. The providers that are required to complete the payment verification process will receive the necessary forms that must be completed correctly and returned before payments can begin.

This payment verification process includes returning a completed W-9 and Direct Deposit Form to Maximus, Inc. and they will conduct the verification based on the following criteria:

DECAL is required to ensure that the entity paid is the same as the entity that is legally licensed and able to receive the benefit.
In order for the W-9 to pass for approval, it must have the legal name and DBA/location name that is on the provider’s child care license. One of those names must pass the IRS verification match with the TIN provided.
The Direct Deposit Form must also show that the bank account being paid is in the legal name or DBA/location name as shown on the child care license.

If a provider would like to contact Maximus, Inc prior to this direct outreach they can do so by email at CAPSCOVID-19Compliance@Maximus.com and phone at 1-877-755-6522 (Press 9 if you do not have a PIN).

When are monthly STABLE 4ward payments processed?

DECAL cannot guarantee a specific date each month, that a deposit will be available in a provider’s bank account.

The STABLE 4ward payment process begins on the first Wednesday or Thursday of each month, depending on how the dates fall. Providers should begin seeing STABLE 4ward deposits by the 15th of each month.

Example:

The first Wednesday in June is June 1st
The first Wednesday in July is July 6th

Given the difference in days, in this example providers could see STABLE 4ward deposits later in July than they did in June.

If a State Holiday occurs during the first two weeks of a month, this could delay the STABLE 4ward deposit.

STABLE 4ward Quarterly Reporting

Recipients of STABLE 4ward are required to complete quarterly reporting every three months based on the schedule below. Quarterly reporting will be completed in your DECAL KOALA account.

*STABLE 4ward* Quarterly Reporting Schedule
#	Quarterly Reporting Period (Total spending should be a cumulative total)	Enter Attendance for the Month of	Quarterly Reporting Start Date	Quarterly Reporting Deadline
1	03/11/2021 thru 03/31/2022	March 2022	5/1/2022	5/31/2022
2	Total Spending thru 06/30/2022	June 2022	8/1/2022	8/31/2022
3	Total Spending thru 9/30/2022	September 2022	11/1/2022	11/30/2022
4	Total Spending thru 12/31/2022	December 2022	2/1/2023	2/28/2023
5	Total Spending thru 03/31/2023	March 2023	5/1/2023	5/31/2023
6	Total Spending thru 06/30/2023	June 2023	8/1/2023	8/31/2023
7	Total Spending thru 9/30/2023	September 2023	11/1/2023	11/30/2023
8	Total Spending thru 12/31/2023	December 2023	2/1/2024	2/28/2024
9	Total Spending thru 03/31/2024	March 2024	5/1/2024	5/31/2024
10	Total Spending thru 06/30/2024	June 2024	7/1/2024	7/31/2024

For guidance on how to complete the quarterly reporting please refer to STABLE 4ward Quarterly Reporting Guidance.

STABLE 4ward Quarterly Reporting Webinar.mp4

Questions?

STABLE Frequently Asked Questions will be regularly updated and available at: Frequently Asked Questions for STABLE 4ward

For additional questions not addressed in the STABLE FAQ or to contact STABLE staff, please address your email to stable@decal.ga.gov.

The Frequently Asked Questions issued by the Office of Child Care are available at: https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/occ/American_Rescue_Plan_Act%20Child_Care_Stabilization_Funds_FAQs.pdf

The Office of Child Care COVID-19 Resources are available at: https://www.acf.hhs.gov/occ/training-technical-assistance/office-child-care-covid-19-resources