The Opportunity

The Indiana Office of Early Childhood and Out-of-School Learning (OECOSL) is a division of the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration and oversees early childhood education and out-of-school-time programs. OECOSL received billions of dollars in federal COVID-19 relief funds to help stabilize and strengthen the state's early care and education system after the pandemic caused centers to close and enrollment to decline. OECOSL engaged Mapt Solutions to assist them with developing a strategy for how to use this unprecedented amount of money effectively and build a stronger future for Indiana’s early care and education system.

Our Approach

When Mapt engaged with OECOSL, the Mapt team first conducted an assessment of Indiana early care and education programs and best practices taking place in other states. Mapt helped facilitate numerous listening sessions with providers, child care partners and the business community to understand the areas of greatest need. Armed with all of this information, Mapt created a blueprint for the use of the federal COVID-19 relief funding in partnership with OECOSL, as well as implementation plans for each initiative.

Impact

One signature effort was the Build, Learn, Grow Scholarship Fund, supported by Early Learning Indiana and Indiana Afterschool Network. The effort provided critical support for thousands of Hoosier families to access quality care settings and helped programs rebuild enrollment following the pandemic. More than $31 million was invested in the effort from May 2021-August 2022, representing 292,000 weeks of care for Indiana children. More federal relief funds were distributed straight to early child care providers through the Build, Learn, Grow Stabilization Grants which covered a number of expenses providers faced as a result of the pandemic. A wellness program for providers and their employees was also part of the Build, Learn, Grow program.