Erie County Investing in Families Phase II—Childcare Start Up & Expansion Grant Program

The Need 

The lack of affordable, quality childcare has been an issue in Erie County for many years. In 2024, the Jefferson Educational Society tasked a team of childcare professionals, led by Court Gould, to develop recommendations for the City of Erie to reverse its dire shortage of affordable, quality childcare. This work culminated in a report, funded by the Erie Community Foundation, entitled Positioning Erie to Prosper and Compete: Child Care School for Infants and Toddlers is Key to Future of Workforce and Economy, released in August 2024. It found that in the City of Erie alone, there was a deficit of 1,542 childcare slots. Using census data, it was extrapolated that there was an approximate deficit of 2,544 across Erie County, including the City of Erie. Many programs had the capacity and available space to expand the number of classrooms they could utilize, but did not have the funding and capital to do so. Increasing the number of classrooms available would create additional childcare slots, particularly for infants and toddlers—age ranges facing a high deficit throughout Erie County.

 

Why Now

The Childcare Start Up & Expansion grant program is Phase II of the Erie County Investing in Families program. Phase I of the program, Educator Retention Awards, focused on stabilizing the childcare workforce in Erie County by providing awards to qualified early childhood education professionals. This program distributed $1,479,977 to these professionals to stabilize the childcare workforce. More information about the Educator Retention Awards can be found here.

With the childcare workforce in Erie County stabilized, the next logical step was to expand the capacity of existing childcare programs to address to approximate deficit of 2,544 childcare slots across Erie County.

 

How It’s Done

The Erie County Gaming Revenue Authority (ECGRA) identified childcare as a community need based on the Jefferson Educational Society’s Positioning Erie to Prosper and Compete report. Bringing together members of the project report team, ECGRA and the Northwest Institute of Research, Inc. (NWIR, Inc.), which operates Early Learning Resource Center Regions 1 & 2, hosted study sessions for Erie County Council to explore the childcare issue within our community.

After these study sessions, Erie County Government realized the need to support the early childhood education industry as a vital tool for economic and workforce development, both for today and for tomorrow.

ECGRA budgeted $1 million of the $5 million dollar Erie County Investing in Families allocation to the Start Up & Expansion Grant Program. This program focused on renovating and/or expanding existing buildings currently housing childcare programs. To be eligible for a grant, the childcare facility must be a Keystone STARS Level 2 program or higher and provide a 1:1 cash match.

Program guidelines were developed to closely follow Start Up & Expansion grants that were funded by Pennsylvania’s Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL), so that childcare providers were familiar with the grant program and application process, reducing their administrative burden. Additionally, NWIR, Inc., through its Early Learning Resource Center Quality Coach team, provided technical assistance and support to providers applying for the ECGRA grant program.

 

How It’s Funded

The initial funding for this program came from the Erie County Government using available American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. The County Government provided $2.5 million dollars in funds, which was matched dollar-for-dollar by ECGRA for a total of $5 million for all three phases of the Erie County Investing in Families program.

 

The Innovators

This project could not have happened without the involvement of ECGRA and NWIR, Inc. with support from the Jefferson Educational Society’s Early Childcare Investment Policy Initiative Team. This project could also not have occurred without the support of Erie County Government and their understanding of early childhood education as an important driver of economic and workforce development.

 

The Impact

After completing the grant review process, 28 childcare programs throughout Erie County received grant awards, totaling $995,537.62 of investment by ECGRA. With the 1:1 cash match (or more), childcare programs provided $954,318.23 in matching funds, as of August 27, 2026, meaning that the total investment in expanding available classrooms and childcare slots will be at least $1,909,855.85. These investments created 566 new childcare slots throughout Erie County, helping children learn, parents work, and childcare businesses increase their revenue through program expansion.

 

Get Involved

The most important takeaway for other counties in Pennsylvania is that local advocacy from childcare providers and associated organizations can drive real impact and real change. Engaging and educating legislators on a local level can have a major positive effect on the children, families, and the childcare community.