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For Families
Finding Care
  • Child Care Locator App: Use the interactive Child Care Locator web app to view a map of family child care providers and search for providers. The web app does not include licensed child care centers, school-based preschools, or community-based preschools in Otter Tail County.
  • Finding Child Care: A Guide for Families: This guide offers steps for choosing care, questions to ask programs, and things to look for as you visit child care programs and consider caregivers.
  • Head Start and Public Preschool Referrals: The Head Start and Public Preschool Referrals system helps you let local Head Start and school district preschool programs know that you are interested in those programs for your child. 
  • Licensing Lookup: Search for licensed providers. 
  • Parent Aware: Parent Aware offers free tools and resources to help you find a quality child care and early education program for your child.
  • Questions to Ask When Seeking Child Care for Children with Special Needs: A tip sheet with guiding questions for you to use when seeking an early care and education program for a child with special needs.
Paying for Care
  • Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP): Child Care Assistance Program provides financial assistance to help families with low incomes pay for child care so that parents may pursue employment or education leading to employment, and that children are well cared for and prepared to enter school.
  • Early Learning Scholarships: Early Learning Scholarships can help you pay for high-quality child care and early education to support your child's educational journey. 
  • Paying for Care: There are financial aid programs that may help you pay for child care in Minnesota and several tax credits and deductions on your income tax that can help make care more affordable.
Other
  • Help Me Connect: A navigator connecting expectant families, families with young children (birth – 8 years old) and those working with families to services in their local communities that support healthy child development and family well-being.
For Providers
Starting Child Care
  • Applying for a Child Care Center License: Licensure provides the necessary oversight to ensure child care is provided in a healthy and safe environment, by qualified people, and meets the developmental needs of all children in care. 
  • Child Care Wayfinder: Child Care Wayfinder is your one-stop navigation network for starting and growing child care programs in Minnesota. 
  • Resources for New Family Child Care Providers: Otter Tail County completes the licensing process under delegation from the MN Department of Human Services (DHS) State Rules and Statutes governing family child care and group family child care providers. 
  • Start-Up Grants: Start Up Grants are intended to provide support to child care educators just getting started. Applications may be submitted after having the first visit with the child care licensor or up to 6 months after the effective date of the child care license. 
Financial and Business Supports
  • CDA Awards: CDA Awards help providers pay for the required training, application, and renewal of the nationally recognized Child Development Associate® (CDA) Credential™.
  • Early Childhood Connector: The Early Childhood Connector is a cross-agency effort to keep child care providers and early educators in Minnesota up-to-date on state initiatives. By signing up for the newsletter or attending a call, early educators of all types can expect relevant information to their field. 
  • Emergency Grants: Emergency Grants are intended to assist existing programs that have been affected by an emergency that directly affects their ability to provide care.
  • Family, Friend and Neighbor (FFN): FFN caregivers are family members, friends and neighbors that care for children outside of a formal child care setting. FFN navigators are available state-wide to assist caregivers in delivering quality care and early learning experiences that promote healthy development and prepare children for success.
  • First Children's Finance: If you’re looking to start, improve or expand your business, First Children's Finance has a range of programs and services specifically designed for child care entrepreneurs. 
  • Great Start Compensation Support Payment Program: This program issues monthly payments to eligible child care and early education programs to fund increases in compensation for educators. 
  • Help for Licensed Child Care Centers: This page has information specific to licensed child care centers. 
  • Provider Hub: The Provider Hub is a website that the State of Minnesota uses to manage licensing information. 
  • REETAIN Bonuses: REETAIN Bonuses help supplement income for early childhood educators as they work to establish a career in the field. 
  • Resources for Existing Family Child Care Providers: Otter Tail County completes the licensing process under delegation from the MN Department of Human Services (DHS) State Rules and Statutes governing family child care and group family child care providers. 
  • Shared Services Alliance: Shared Services Alliance is here to assist family child care providers in sustaining quality care and preventing professional burnout by providing a substitute program and telehealth services.
  • TEACH Scholarships: TEACH Early Childhood® Minnesota is a scholarship program that helps early childhood and school-age educators increase their levels of education, compensation, and commitment to the field by earning college credits and degrees.
Professional Development
  • Achieve (MNCPD): Achieve helps child care and early education professionals document and plan for their training and professional development.
  • Center for Inclusive Child Care (CICC): CICC offers free relationship-based support, training, modeling, and resources for inclusion, health and safety, and infant and toddler care.
  • Develop: Use Develop to search and register for training and track professional development activities, apply for an Individual Membership and establish a Career Lattice Step, and apply for and submit documentation to earn a Parent Aware Rating.
  • Empower to Educate: Empower to Educate helps current and aspiring early childhood educators begin, advance, and sustain their child care careers. Explore early childhood career pathways with personalized support from a local Workforce Advisor. Participants also receive financial support, free training options, job placement support, and an opportunity to be mentored by an experienced early childhood educator.
  • Parent Aware: Parent Aware helps programs find opportunities to improve their quality, supports them with the tools and resources they need to succeed, and celebrates the work they are doing to create better lives for children in Minnesota.
Other
  • Child Care Regulation Modernization Projects: In 2021, the Minnesota legislature passed legislation and allocated federal funding to support regulation modernization projects for both licensed family child care and child care centers. 

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