On March 18, Governor Cuomo issued an Executive Order directing school districts to develop a plan for child care, with an emphasis on serving children of parents who are employed by essential businesses and entities that are critical to the COVID-19 response effort.
Child care placement is available to personnel who provide essential services, supplies, or support during this time. If you believe that you may qualify, please call the Oneida-Herkimer-Madison Child Care Resource Center at 315-223-7850 extension 222 or email earlycareandlearning@cornell.edu.
Scholarships available
New York State is using a portion of the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) funds to provide child care to income eligible essential workers at no cost. Essential workers who must work outside of the home and who are using a regulated child care provider will receive a scholarship for the cost of care as long as the funds to support it are available. All licensed and regulated providers who are caring for essential workers are able to participate in this new program.
In order to qualify for the scholarship, families must have an adjusted gross income at or below 300% of the federal poverty level. For a family of four that equals an annual income of $78,600.
Parents are asked to complete the following application for the CARES Child Care Scholarship via the link below. It informs parents that the application will be considered complete once the online application is finished AND the required supplemental documentation is submitted to the local agency providing child care.
For parents that currently receive a subsidy from their local DSS to pay for child care, this scholarship can cover the parent co-pay. Parents should apply for the CARES Act Scholarship, and then contact their local Department of Social Services to get a letter stating their current co-pay.
Click here for the COVID-19 CARES Child Care Scholarship Application
Thank you to all essential personnel who continue to protect and support our community. Please be safe, and whenever possible, stay at home.
Essential workers
The following list is intended as a guide, but not an exhaustive list of professions or occupations eligible for prioritized childcare. Essential businesses and entities include:
Essential Health Care Operations
- research and laboratory services
- hospitals
- walk-in-care health facilities
- emergency veterinary and livestock services
- elder care
- medical wholesale and distribution
- home health care workers or aides for the elderly
- doctor and emergency dental
- nursing homes, or residential health care facilities or congregate care facilities
- medical supplies and equipment manufacturers and providers
Essential Infrastructure
- utilities including power generation, fuel supply and transmission
- public water and wastewater
- telecommunications and data centers
- airports/airlines
- transportation infrastructure such as bus, rail, or for-hire vehicles, garages
- hotels, and places of accommodation
Essential Manufacturing
- food processing, manufacturing agents, including all foods and beverages
- chemicals
- medical equipment/instruments
- pharmaceuticals
- sanitary products
- telecommunications
- microelectronics/semi-conductor
- agriculture/farms
- household paper products
Essential Retail
- grocery stores including all food and beverage stores
- pharmacies
- convenience stores
- farmer’s markets
- gas stations
- restaurants/bars (only for take-out/delivery)
- hardware and building material stores
Essential Services
- trash and recycling collection, processing and disposal
- mail and shipping services
- laundromats
- building cleaning and maintenance
- child care services
- auto repair
- warehouse/distribution and fulfillment
- funeral homes, crematoriums and cemeteries
- storage for essential businesses
- animal shelters
News Media and Financial Institutions
- banks
- insurance
- payroll
- accounting
- services related to financial markets
- newspaper
- television
Providers of Basic Necessities to Economically Disadvantaged Populations
- homeless shelters and congregate care facilities
- food banks
- human services providers whose function includes the direct care of patients in state-licensed or funded voluntary programs; the care, protection, custody and oversight of individuals both in the community and in state-licensed residential facilities; those operating community shelters and other critical human services agencies providing direct care or support
Construction
- skilled trades such as electricians, plumbers
- other related construction firms and professionals for essential infrastructure or for emergency repair and safety purposes
Defense
- defense and national security-related operations supporting the U.S. Government or a contractor to the US government
Essential Services Necessary to Maintain the Safety, Sanitation and Essential Operations of Residences or Other Essential Businesses
- law enforcement
- fire prevention and response
- building code enforcement
- security
- emergency management and response
- building cleaners or janitors
- general maintenance whether employed by the entity directly or a vendor
- automotive repair
- disinfection
Vendors that Provide Essential Services or Products, Including Logistics and Technology Support, Child Care and Services:
- logistics
- technology support for online services
- child care programs and services
- government owned or leased buildings
- essential government services