The Dept. of Human Services' Office of Child Care and Regulatory Services — which administers the Family, Friends and Neighbors (FFN) portion of the Block Grant — on Tuesday announced changes to the application limits for children.
For the summer months, the federally-funded program provided childcare subsidies for approved parent applicants and family, friend or neighbor (informal) applicants. The summer funding covered children aged 0-12. However, as of September the age limit has been reduced to children ages 0-5 due to the start of the fall (20/21) school year, D.H.S. said, adding that the change was mandated by federal requirements.
While the age limit has been reduced, D.H.S. said it successfully advocated for the FFN program to cover kids aged 0 – 12 for nightshift workers (4 p.m. – 7 a.m.).
Eligible applicants can get up to eight hours of care covered, D.H.S. said.
Special Applicant Requirements:
- Informal Provider/FFN Application for Parents
- Informal Provider/FFN Application for Providers
- Both the Parent and Provider Applications must be turned in at the same time for processing)
- Employer documentation/ job verification citing work hours
- Completion of all required documentation by The Office of Child Care in order for applications to be processed and awards granted.
No new Block Grant applications will be accepted for child care centers, D.H.S. said.
Parents can submit an application to the Office of Child Care and Regulatory Services for Child Care Subsidy Assistance by downloading and completing the Child Care Informal Provider application from the D.H.S. website at www.dhs.gov.vi/OCCRS/index.html.
Parents can apply for subsidies for children ages 0 – 5 for the 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. shift, along with parents working the night shift as stated above. The parent must list all information requested for the Family, Friend, or Neighbor (FFN) this parent has selected to care for the child or children. Income eligibility is determined on a case-by-case basis.
To be approved as an Informal or FFN Provider, the provider cannot live with the parents or children. A clearance by the V.I. Police Department Criminal Records and V.I. Sex Offender Registry check will be conducted by The Office of Child Care & Regulatory Services, D.H.S. said.
Block Grant (Child Care) applications are now available for parents and guardians on the D.H.S. website's Child Care and Regulatory Services page here. The application can be downloaded, filled out and sent to:
- St. Croix - Office of Child Care, #129 Golden Rock
- St. Thomas - Office of Child Care - Knud Hansen Building, 1303 Hospital Ground,
- St. John - DHS Office in Cruz Bay
Additionally, completed applications can be scanned and emailed to [email protected].
Note: The Office of Child Care and Regulatory Service has updated contact information as the division is teleworking at this time, D.H.S. said. No in-person meetings or interviews are being conducted at this time.
St. Thomas Office: 340-774-0930
- Process Coordinator Extension: 4186
- Office Assistant Extension: 4181
- Licensing Director: 4184
St. Croix Office: 340-772-7100
- Process Coordinator Extension: 7048
- Child Care Specialist Extension: 7044
- Child Care Specialist Extension: 7045
- Licensing Specialist Extension: 7047
- Office Assistant Extension: 7147
- QRIS Director Extension: 7046
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