Financing Facilities for Children

ABCD Initiative by Noni Ramos, Low Income
Investment Fund
The overarching goal of the Affordable Buildings for Child Development (ABCD) Initiative is to build a comprehensive and sustainable financing system for high-quality child care facility development with the objective of creating 15,000 spaces in five years with a particular focus on low-income communities. However, experience has shown that it takes more than just funding to meet the demand for affordable and high-quality childcare facilities. That is why the ABCD initiative utilizes the expertise and capacity of existing community organizations, while employing four interrelated strategies.

ABCD Fund – Provides technical assistance, grants and loans for child care centers, feasibility planning, acquisition, and construction costs, and long-term real estate financing needs.

ABCD Development Assistance – Utilizes the expertise of regional community developers to increase statewide the construction of child care facilities within educational, health, and housing facilities. Partners include Bridge Housing, Los Angeles Community Design Center (LACDC), Mercy Housing California and Child Development, Inc. (CDI).

ABCD Constructing Connections – Strengthens the facilities development expertise of child care center operators and intermediaries, and improves the regulatory and funding environment to support child care facilities as a priority.

ABCD Campaign to Sustain Child Care – Brings together new coalitions of representatives of a variety of sectors to advocate for increased child care program operating subsidies from state and local governments.

Read The Next Stage in Childcare Facilities Development to learn more about this four-pronged strategy.

Charter Schools by Susan Harper, Low Income Investment Fund
Financing of charter schools is a way for banks to assist the public school system. Many charter schools open in low- and moderate-income communities and are created on derelict or long neglected property making them a catalyst for revitalization and stabilization, an activity that is supported by CRA.

In Funding Our Future: Charter School Finance 101, Susan Harper, the program manager of the California Charter School Program at the Low Income Investment Fund www.liifund.org (LIIF) writes about the financing needs of charter school, including a discussion of traditional financing for school facilities, and the critical need for cash flow financing of budget shortages that occur due to mid-year school funding disbursements by school districts.