Capital Projects Fund Accelerator Program – US

Purpose and Goals

• The purpose is to fund construction to expand the supply of facilities in Kansas meeting the full range of employment, health, education, and child care needs of families.
• Streamline and increase access to community supports by investing in capital projects that collocate services directly enabling work, education, and health monitoring, and create additional full-day, full-year licensed child care slots.

Funding Limits

• A maximum of $38 Million will be awarded through this RFP, supporting capital investments and construction incurred during the project period. No operating expenses can be supported by these grant funds.
• There is no set minimum or maximum award amount. The KCCTF aims to make awards in the range of $500,000 to $5,000,000 to create long-term, transformational change for the well-being of the most vulnerable within the community by providing direct access to child care services and to enable work, education, and health monitoring.
• KCCTF aims to issue between $10 Million – $12 Million in total funding for those applications received by the Round One deadline, with the remaining amount (approximately $26 Million – $28 Million) awarded in Round Two.

Target Outcomes

• Increased number of individuals receiving access to education, including early childhood education
• Increased access to physical, mental, and/or behavioral health needs in the community
• Increased access to supports that enable work, including broadband
• Increased access to child care for children birth to 5 years

Eligible Projects

Projects must meet ALL the following criteria to be considered for funding:

• The project is designed to address a critical need that resulted from or was made apparent or exacerbated by the COVID-19 public health emergency.
• The project invests in capital assets designed to increase the number of licensed child care slots and directly enable work, education, and health monitoring (defined in next bullet). As KCCTF priorities and requirements of the federal funding source, these four program elements are non-negotiable to receive CPF Accelerator funding.
• The project ensures immediate broadband access to community members and for a period of no less than 5 years.
• Projects must have explicit design considerations to enable ALL the following activities for a period of no less than 5 years:
  • Licensed child care slots to support quality care and education programming for children B-5 that enable parents and caregivers to participate in employment opportunities.
  • Work activities to help community members engage in employment, search for employment, and/or develop the requisite skills and knowledge to become employed. Examples include, but are not limited to:
    • Offering trainings for job seekers.
    • Offering space and broadband access for community members who lack consistent access in personal spaces, such as migrant workers and families, those experiencing homelessness, and/or low-income families without home internet.
    • Creating co-location space for career navigation, training, and employment services.
    • Creating community work spaces with reliable broadband for local community members needing access to remote work opportunities.
    • Expanding access to resources for finding employment (e.g., internet access, job fairs, information about career options).
  • Education activities to acquire knowledge and/or skills, undertaken as part of a person’s participation in school, an academic program, extracurricular program, or social-emotional development program. Examples include, but are not limited to:
    • Providing both shared and private spaces for adults to access online classes and other continuing education opportunities.
    • Providing spaces for adult workers to access workforce trainings required for employment and ongoing professional development opportunities.
    • Providing space for parent education opportunities.
    • Providing early learning opportunities by adhering to the Kansas Early Learning Standards
    • Offering educational programming/resourcing for children and families (e.g., enrichment activities, books, technology/devices).
  • Health monitoring services for an individual’s physical and/or behavioral health. Examples include, but are not limited to:
    • Providing space for telehealth services for community members.
    • Providing health screening and basic primary care services on-site.
    • Providing early childhood developmental, vision, hearing, and/or dental health screenings, either in-person, virtually, or through telehealth provided by a licensed health care provider.
    • Offering office space for mental health services provided by licensed therapists.
    • Embedding nurses on a permanent or rotational basis to perform physical and proactive mental health screenings/wellness checks.
    • Hosting periodic health screenings and enabling access to specialty care (e.g., high-risk prenatal care, occupational therapy) for community members.

Eligibility Criteria

• A variety of organizations and entities, both public and private, may serve as the lead applicant for a CPF Accelerator project.
• Eligible lead applicants may include:
  • City & County Governments applying on behalf of local businesses and organizations.
  • Economic Development Organizations such as chambers of commerce, economic development corporations, and regional economic organizations.
  • Community-Based Organizations such as social service, health, employment, faith-based, and after-school/out-of-school time programs.
  • Private Entities such as corporations and businesses, health systems, community centers, foundations, and libraries.
  • Educational Institutions such as USDs, early childhood local agencies, and higher education (e.g., 2- and 4-year colleges).
  • Tribes and Tribal organizations.

For more information, visit All In For Kansas Kids.