Frequently Asked Questions
General Information
- 1. What does it mean to be in “good standing” with the Secretary of State?
The Indiana Secretary of State offers Certificates of Existence (formerly Certificates of Good Standing) to businesses indicating that they have complied with all requirements to operate in the state of Indiana. Applicants must have a Certificate of Existence with the Secretary of State to prove they are in good standing and to be eligible for this opportunity. To learn more and order your certificate, please visit the Secretary of State website here.
Please note that all entities included within a group application, not just the lead applicant, must have a Certificate of Existence.
- 2. How can funds be spent?
Eligible applicants may request funding to expand or implement child care benefits through several support category options, empowering them to choose what is most appropriate for their business or local employer community. Applicants (both single employer and group applicants) may only request funding in one of the support category options. Access the Allowable Expense Guide here to see a list of support categories in which funds can be requested.
- 3. Can I blend funding received from the Employer-Sponsored Child Care Fund with other funding related to supporting child care/the workforce?
- 4. Can the funds be used over multiple years depending on the take-rate of a tuition-based program?
Funding must be used within the grant term outlined in the executed grant agreement. Any funds not used within this period will be required to be returned to the state.
- 5. Will there be any additional rounds of funding?
No additional funding is available for the Employer-Sponsored Child Care Fund.
- 6. Where can I see who was awarded?
See who received awards here.
- 7. I am a school corporation and was awarded funds to support creation of an on-site child care program, what are the minimum regulatory requirements that I must meet to receive the Employer Sponsored Funds?
Any new child care program created or expanded through the Employer Sponsored Fund must become regulated by the state and meet the Provider Eligible Standards. Additional standards may apply based on the overall plan for regulation.
If an awardee determines they will not be able to meet the requirements of the grant, the Grant Agreement should not be signed when provided via DocuSign and a notification should be sent to OECOSLDirector@fssa.in.gov.
- 8. Who is the Primary contact person?
Your Child Care Resource and Referral (CCRR) Resource Navigator. If you are unsure who that is, please visit the CCRR tile for more information on how to contact your local CCRR.
- 9. Where can I access my executed grant agreement and project budget?
You can find that at any time on IN’s Transparency Portal: Here.
- 10. What is required of me if my business/organization is awarded funding?
In receiving these funds, recipients agree to comply with all grant terms, including but not limited to: submitting a finalized implementation plan, implementing project plans within the grant period, contribute at a minimum, an additional 10% of the total funding request through in-kind or monetary contributions, and completing reports on how funding was spent. Full terms and agreements are included in the application.
As with all funding, awardees are responsible for tracking how funds were used, including ensuring funds from different sources or opportunities do not pay for the same expenses. Awardees will be instructed to retain all receipts and documentation associated with the spending of Employer-Sponsored Child Care Fund for reporting and auditing purposes.
- 11. If an employer/group of employers chooses a support category that requires partnership with a child care provider, do funds have to be used in partnership with just one child care provider, or can they be used across a network of providers?
It is not required that all employers represented in an applicant group partner with the same child care provider when creating their programs or using grant funds. For example, a group may request funds to establish reserved seats across a network of child care providers, allowing employees of participating organizations to choose a location from a list of providers that have openings and best fit their individual family preferences and needs.
Post-Award Considerations
Claims
- 1. What are the claims and payment process?
Once the Grant Agreement has been fully executed, the state’s claims team will provide you with a “Claims Form.” This form will be used to submit claims for payment, based on the terms in your Grant Agreement and Budget. The form will include guidance on how to submit for payment, along with how to request the initial payment (up to 30%) you requested within the application.
- 2. Do I have to provide receipts or documentation of how my company/organization spent funding?
Yes, all claims must have supporting documentation attached to the electronic submission. See the resource under Claims Resources: ESCC Supporting Documentation- Instructions and Guide.
- 3. What is considered supporting documentation?
See the resource under Claims Resources: ESCC Claims Supporting Documentation- Instructions and Guide.
- 4. How much detail is needed on the claims form?
See the resource under Claims Resources: How to Fill Out a Claims Form- Instructions and Guide.
- 5. What documentation is needed to request the initial 30% of grant funding?
The organization’s Implementation Plan and a copy of the Project Budget. See the resource under Claims Resources: ESCC Claims Supporting Documentation- Instructions and Guide.
- 6. How do I submit a request for funds?
See the resource under Claims Resources: How to Fill Out a Claims Form- Instructions and Guide and ESCC Claims Supporting Documentation- Instructions and Guide.
- 7. Where is the claims form located?
OECOSL sent and email to with your electronic claims form to the delineated person on your submitted Direct Deposit and W-9. You may reach out to ClaimsInfo@fssa.IN.gov if you need another copy.
- 8. When do all claims need to be submitted?
By July 15, submit all reimbursement claims and receipts for any expenses accrued from the beginning of the grant term (February or March 2024) through June 30, and continue to submit reimbursement claims and receipts for any expenses accrued after June 30. All expenses from the same month should be claimed on a single claims form and claims forms should be submitted monthly. You can also claim advanced funds (implementation compensation) for the first month of the grant period, but those should not factor into your cost-reimbursement claims and receipts. OECOSL will not require you to report how advanced funds were spent until the end of the grant term in 2025.
- 9. How do I fill out a claims form?
Access the instructions and guide for How to Submit a Claims Form on the webpage, under the Claims Resources section.
- 10. Who do I contact with claims questions?
ClaimsInfo@fssa.in.gov or your Child Care Resource and Referral (CCRR) Resource Navigator.
Grant Agreements
- 1. How long does my program have to spend the money?
You have until the end of the grant term delineated in your grant agreement to spend all grant funds. Claims for expenses of grant funds can be claimed up to 60 days following the grant term, but all receipts for funds must be dated no later than the last day of the grant term.
- 2. Am I required to repay or return funds if my company closes or fails to spend all the money by the deadline?
In accepting an award, you agree to spend all funds by the deadline and in accordance with the terms of the grant. Failure to do so, including but not limited to permanent closure of a business within the period outlined in the grant terms, will result in having to repay or return unused funds.
- 3. What happens after I have reviewed and confirmed the grant agreement and budget?
The Grant Agreement and Budget you received will be processed by the state’s contracts team. During this process, the Grant Agreement will undergo multiple review / approval cycles. Once the Grant Agreement has been approved by all required reviewers, the individual you previously indicated as the “Signer” will receive a notification to complete signatures via DocuSign.
- 4. Am I required to provide a cost share fund match if I am awarded funding?
- 5. When do funds have to be spent?
Funds must be spent based on the timeframe outlined within the grant agreement.
- 6. When will I receive the initial payment?
Initial payments will be processed after the first claims form is submitted. The state pays 35 days in arears but some payments can take up to 60 days to process.
- 7. When can I start spending the funds?
You can begin spending grant funds at the start of your grant term. Funding is on a cost-reimbursement basis and you can begin submitting claims for reimbursement once you have an executed grant agreement.
- 8. Where can I access the Allowable Expense Guide?
Access the Allowable Expense Guide here.
- 9. Is the grant considered income for tax purposes?
Any awards are considered income. All awarded applicants will receive a 1099 for funds received. OECOSL does not provide tax advice and recommends consulting your accountant or tax expert for related questions and/or concerns.
- 10. Are awardees considered beneficiaries or sub-recipients?
Beneficiaries.
- 11. Are you considered subrecipients of federal funds?
No. You are a beneficiary. Disregard any language about subrecipients in the grant agreement. This will be corrected in the new state fiscal year.
- 12. Is a federal audit required?
No, a federal audit is not required.
- 13. When do I need approval from OECOSL regarding Budget changes?
Any budget changes for new expenses must fall under the allowable expense guide within the same benefit category. These do not need to be approved by OECOSL as this is considered an internal business decision. You cannot change the total amount awarded or the benefit category chosen. You will need approval for any expenses to be changed from contributions to grant funds and any budget changes that do not directly follow the allowable expense guide need to be approved by OECOSL prior to implementing the change.
Reporting
- 1. What are the reporting requirements and process?
Quarterly reporting will be required and will take place within the Grant Portal (where the application was completed). You will receive notification when the Portal is ready for you to submit reports, where you will indicate how much of the funds were spent within the reporting timeframe. See the instructions and guides for accessing the portal, filling out a quarterly report and all reporting periods under Reporting Resources on the webpage.
- 2. Can a new user be added to the grant portal to have access to the reporting feature?
If you do not have access to the grant applicant login, submit the following information to OECOSLDirector@fssa.in.gov and it will be added to the portal.
Subject Line: Grant Portal Access Change – [Name of the entity]
- The name of the organization you wish to have access to.
- The name and email address of anyone your organization wants added to the account.
- The name and email of the applicant who applied for the grant and currently has access to the account.
- Does this person need to be removed from accessing the portal account?
- 3. What is the login URL for the Grant portal?
Access the grant portal here or you can copy and paste the URL into your internet browser here: https://childcaregrants.fssa.in.gov.
- 4. What is a Grantee Contribution vs Grant Expenditure?
Grantee Contributions are monetary or in-kind donations. Contributions must be a minimum of 10% of the grant funding awarded. Grant Expenditures are expenses accrued that can be submitted for cost-reimbursement from the state up to the amount of grant funds awarded. All expenditures must have receipts submitted as supporting documentation to claim the amount for cost-reimbursement.
- 5. Which claims forms need to be attached to the Quarterly Report?
Any claim submitted with an invoice date that falls during that reporting quarter needs to be uploaded in the quarterly report. A description of what expenses that claims form covered is required for each uploaded form as well.
- 6. Will receipts ever be required to show how the Implementation Compensation (advanced funds) was spent?
At the end of the grant term, in the grant portal, you will be required to submit receipts showing how the advanced funds were used. These receipts should align with the submitted Implementation Plan used as supporting documentation to claim the advanced funds. Additional instructions and guides will be uploaded to the webpage under Quarterly Reporting Resources.