PDG Newsletter March 15, 2023 Don’t Forget to Submit Your Dream Up! Application by March 17 The Dream Up! Child Care Supply-Building Grant Program is a community focused program. Through this program, awarded communities receive strategic planning support and $75,000 in grant funding. Additional $5,000 stipends will be given to participating child care providers who complete free training and submit updated business plans during the strategic planning process. Through a collaborative community approach, teams of community stakeholders will work to evaluate, plan, sustain, and expand existing child care, and support new child care programs. Check out these resources before submitting your application: Informational chart outlining the Dream Up! process Two community scenarios: one for a rural community and one for an urban community Dream Up! Kick-Off Webinar Tuesday Talks – Funding Opportunities: Dream Up! and Child Care Counts Program C Frequently Asked Questions As a reminder, child care providers are encouraged to participate in a community’s Core Team, but may not be the Core Team Lead. Deadline to apply: Friday, March 17, 2023 at 5 p.m. CST Gov. Evers Delivers Radio Address on Plans to Expand Access to Affordable Child Care and Create a Statewide Paid Family Leave Program During a recent radio address, Gov. Tony Evers highlighting his budget initiatives for his 2023-25 biennial budget proposal, which he shared last month in a 2023-25 Biennial Budget Message. In the radio address he stated: “I’m also calling on the Legislature to join me in continuing our successful Child Care Counts and Partner Up! programs. These programs have been making a real difference in keeping child care affordable and accessible for working families, but the federal funds that support them won’t last forever. My budget continues Child Care Counts and Partner Up! as permanent state programs, so providers can keep the lights on, pay their workers fair, competitive wages, expand partnerships with employers, and continue to provide high-quality care to kids across the state.” Access the audio recording of the radio address online. Read the full press release on the Official Website for Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers.