1. Partner Up Child Care Grant Program

In today’s email we have updates and provide information on the recently launched Child Care Partnership program in Wisconsin. If you are a business owner, with one employee or one hundred employees, you can take advantage of this program to help your employees provide for child care. I encourage you to read through this short summary to see if this unique program fits with your business and employees.
Partner Up Child Care Grant Program
Partner Up! is a grant program being offered throughout the state. Locally in Western Wisconsin, the Child Care partnership program is coordinated at Western Dairyland, a private non-profit entity located in Eau Claire. If an employer is willing to cover 25% of their individual employee(s)’s child care costs, then Partner Up! is awarding grant funding to cover the remaining 75% of that cost. The employees receive quality child care, often at the their current provider, at no cost to them. An employer as small as one employee, or with hundreds of employees can participate in this program. Applications are now being accepted until the application period closes April 4th at 5pm.

If you’re an employer considering Partner Up!, this one sheet has more information.

A few tools that may be helpful in deciding if you as an employer should apply for the grant:

If you are a child care provider, please reach out to your CCR&R for more information in participating in this program. Laura.Lash@wdeoc.org / 715-495-5030

If you are a family that would like to share this info with your child care provider or employer, please reference these documents.

To learn more about the program and review the application, please visit the Partner Up! page. Consider viewing one of the previously recorded webinars. If you’d like immediate assistance and have questions regarding this opportunity, please reach out to Laura Lash at Western Dairyland, your Business Child Care Advocate.


Reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities will be made if requested at least two weeks in advance. Email sbdc@uwec.edu or call (715) 836-4820.