In-home child care programs can reopen June 8, while larger centers can open their doors June 15, as announced Thursday by Gov. Andy Beshear. June 29 is the target date for to bars reopen and for groups of up to 50 people to gather.
Beshear also said that families with students who normally receive free or reduced-price meals at school can get financial assistance to help with groceries.
Child care
Guidance for now includes maximum group sizes of 10 children. They will remain in the same groups all day, and staff will be assigned to the same children each day to reduce exposure. All adults must wear a face mask. Children age 5 or younger should not wear masks.
Programs should stagger playground time, eliminate center-wide family events, eliminate field trips and use centralized drop-off/pick-up locations to eliminate unnecessary traffic to classrooms and reduce exposure.
All programs – in-home and center-based – will receive additional funding for cleaning and PPE supplies. Continued assistance will be available from state personnel and resources.
“Child care is one of the areas we know is critical to reopening the economy,” saidEric Friedlander, Cabinet for Health and Family Services Secretary. “It is critical to parents and has been critical to our essential workers.”
Click to see the complete guidance for in-home child care and center-based child care.
Kentucky students eligible for new emergency food benefits
Beginning Saturday, Kentucky families with students who normally receive free or reduced-price meals at school may get financial assistance to replace those meals through the USDA Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) program.
Families who already receive assistance can receive P-EBT in addition to other benefits their household may get. Children who already receive SNAP, Kentucky Transitional Assistance Program assistance, Kinship Care or Medicaid will automatically receive P-EBT on their EBT cards and do not need to apply separately.
P-EBT benefits will be added to existing EBT cards no later than May 28. Families of all other children must complete a short online application and will be mailed an EBT card with instructions on how to activate and use their card.
Apply or get information from June 2 through June 30 at www.benefind.ky.gov or 855-306-8959.
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