ATLANTA — Gov. Brian Kemp said Friday he was expanding the SOLVE program, a child care assistance initiative for families with children in virtual learning.
The program, which is administered by the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning, has been offering scholarships to qualifying families for children to "attend a licensed child care program that offers full-time care for school-age students or a licensed exempt day camp program while the child is engaged in virtual learning."
It is meant to help working parents whose children are now at home full-time. Gov. Kemp on Friday said it would be expanded to serve all students with disabilities, ages 5-22, regardless of their family's income.
"Today we're excited to announce the successful SOLVE program is being expanded to students and young adults with special needs. SOLVE will now serve students with disabilities age 5-22 regardless of their family's income," the governor said. "This furthers out commitment to protecting the livelihoods of parents and guardians during the COVID-19 pandemic, and will allow them to return to work knowing that their children and young adults are in a safe environment."
The program, which stands for Supporting Onsite Learning for Virtual Education, is funded through the CARES Act. To apply for a SOLVE scholarship, families can visit this site.
A list of eligible school systems is available here.
According to state agencies, the scholarships are good for three months and "may be extended if the school system continues to provide primarily virtual learning," which they define as 50% or more of instruction.