Federal Officials Compliment Oklahoma Child Care Centers, Open Avenue For More Funding

A new “flexibility” announced Monday by federal officials will allow Oklahoma to continue a new child care center program beyond 2020. 

Two officials with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Lynn Johnson and Eric Hargan, visited Oklahoma on Monday to tour HOPE Community Centers near Oklahoma City.

The centers were created this summer in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Centers provide children assistance with online access, homework, mental health issues and offer other help to families. 

Centers are created inside existing programs, like the Boys & Girls Club, the YMCA, or the Urban League. 

“We wrap resources around them to provide services in a much deeper way,” said Justin Brown, the director of the Oklahoma Department of Human Services since 2019. “The real magic for us at OKDHS is that we have an embedded worker within each HOPE center that allows for us to serve the family, as well.” 

There are 27 centers operational serving about 1,700 families in the state as of Monday, according to DHS. Nearly half of the centers are in Oklahoma City. There are nearly 20 other sites working to open centers. 

In August, Gov. Kevin Stitt announced $15 million from the CARES Act, the federal pandemic relief package, would fund the centers. Money from the CARES Act must be spent by the end of 2020. 

Hargan, the Deputy Secretary in the HHS Office of the Secretary, said going forward states can spend other federal funds on programs like the HOPE Community Centers. 

Specifically, states can use their portion of the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) for programs that assist children 13 years old or younger with virtual classes if their school has been closed due to the pandemic. 

Last year, Oklahoma spent about $146 Million in CCDBG funding. 

“We look forward to working with (Gov. Stitt) and the state to explore more resources and flexibilities that HHS can provide,” Hargan said. 

Johnson, Assistant Secretary in the HHS Administration for Children and Families, said Oklahoma’s HOPE Community Center program stuck out nationally because of its focus on providing services to families in addition to students. 

“You all decided to take care of people not just because of COVID, but in spite of COVID,” she said. “We’re seeing that your plans and your efforts moving forward with community partners are ahead of the game.”