Connecticut Child Care Business Expansion Grant
Women's Business Development Council (WBDC)
Up to $25,000
CT child care expansion grant
A Connecticut Office of Early Childhood (OEC)-funded grant administered by the Women's Business Development Council for established child care providers who are growing their licensed capacity. Awards up to $25,000 to businesses that have operated at least two years and are increasing licensed capacity by three or more full-time-equivalent slots, opening a new location, or moving up a license tier (family home to group home, or group home to center). Funds can support classroom construction, furniture and fixtures, educational supplies, and limited operating costs for a new location. The program is the established-provider counterpart to WBDC's Start-Up Grant and runs in periodic competitive rounds, with the next round anticipated in Winter 2026.
- Funding type
- Grant
- Level
- State
- Amount range
- Up to $25,000
- Realistic amount
- Awards are sized to the documented expansion project and use-of-funds, up to the $25,000 cap…
- Deadline
- Periodic competitive rounds. FY2025 window ran Feb 1–28, 2025 and is closed. Next round anticipated Winter 2026.
- Status
- between-intakes
- States
- Connecticut
- Payment model
- milestone
Who qualifies
- OEC-licensed (or pending licensure) as a family home, group home, or center in Connecticut
- Operating full-time with enrolled children for at least 2 years
- Increasing licensed capacity by 3+ full-time-equivalent slots, opening a new location, or upgrading license tier
- At least 75% current enrollment at licensed capacity
- Good standing with CT Department of Revenue Services
- Profitable in at least one of the past three years (or broke even if nonprofit)
- Business banking relationship and digital bookkeeping system; annual sales under $2,500,000
What it covers
Eligible expenses
- Construction for new classrooms
- Furniture and fixtures
- Educational supplies
- Night-shift supplies (bedding, cots)
- Limited operating expenses for a new location
- Up to $2,000 for employee salary (excluding owner)
Ineligible expenses
- Real estate purchases
- Renovations for leased spaces with under 3 years remaining
- Insurance-covered projects
- Wish-list / vanity upgrades
- Owner compensation
How to apply
-
1
Create eCenter profile
Register on the WBDC eCenterDirect portal before applying.
~1 hrs
-
2
Attend grant information session
Attend or watch a required info session (English/Spanish) covering scope and eligibility.
~1 hrs
-
3
Document the expansion project and finances
Prepare an itemized use-of-funds tied to the capacity increase, historical financials showing profitability/break-even, projections, and CT DRS standing.
~7 hrs
-
4
Submit during the open window
Complete and submit the application; optional free 1:1 advising available.
~4 hrs
The 3-or-more-FTE-slot increase is a hard threshold — quantify the exact new licensed capacity in your application, since awards are tied to documented slot creation. If you received a WBDC Start-Up, Emergency Facilities, or Expansion grant for the same license in the last 6 months you're ineligible, so time your applications across WBDC's child care grant suite.
Deadline & timing
Not first-come; all eligible applications considered after the window closes. WBDC posts the next window on ctwbdc.org; applicants must create an eCenter profile and attend a grant info session.
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Last reviewed 2026. GrantCompass is an independent funding-discovery tool and is not affiliated with any government agency. Always confirm details on the official program page.