Moline Establishing Spanish Bilingual Early Learning And Family Empowerment Lab
Moline Mayor Sangeetha Rayapati, Western Illinois University Vice President of Quad Cities Campus Operations Kristi Mindrup, Lindsay Meeker of the WIU College of Education and Human Services, and Ron Clewer of Gorman & Associates have opened up a new partnership that will expand childcare options in an effort to return more people to the workforce and fill long-vacant commercial space in downtown Moline.
WIU-QC will establish the Spanish Bilingual Early Learning and Family Empowerment Lab in the first-floor commercial space of the Enterprise Lofts building. Bolstering childcare options in Moline and the entire region in order to increase workforce participation is a critical goal.
The Moline City Council recently approved the use of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to create a Childcare/Workforce Infrastructure Forgivable Loan Program that will assist families and businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic by delivering quality, worker-friendly childcare options. The program will work similarly to the City’s successful 2021 micro-business loan program that helped dozens of Moline entrepreneurs survive the economic impacts of the pandemic.
The program works by offering loans from $10,000 up to $50,000 to childcare providers – either existing or new – to improve the quality and availability of childcare, encourage and support those businesses to continue their operations, expand their operations or to open new childcare facilities. Priority will be given to providers that offer non-traditional hours, particularly second and third shifts, overnights and weekends, and those equipped to care for infants, toddlers and children with special needs. More details on the program can be found here.
The WIU facility announcement coincides with the first day applications are available for the new ARPA-funded childcare infrastructure program.
