How to Open a Handicapped Daycare With Grants in Louisville

Handicapped daycare facilities for either children or adults are responsible for providing a safe environment for socializing with others and rehabilitation or learning how to live with disability. According to the Disability Funders Network, about 20 percent of the American population has a disability as of 2009. As of the 2010 United States census, the population of Louisville, Kentucky, was 741,096 people. Public and private grant programs can make funding available to start a handicapped daycare service in this city.

Things You'll Need

• Phone directory or local business listings

Instructions

1. Purchase a property or lease a previously constructed facility that will house your handicapped daycare business. Once you have the facility, get a construction professional familiar with handicap-accessible remodeling projects to determine what changes should be made to your property. Search local directories or business listings to find contractors in or around Louisville. Ask multiple contractors to visit in order to negotiate the best price for construction work.

2. Obtain the business licensing necessary to operate your handicapped daycare in Kentucky. Licensing for childcare services is processed through Kentucky's Division of Regulated Child Care, a department within the state's Cabinet for Health & Family Services. At the time of publication, initial licensing fees were $100 and the annual renewal fee was $50 per facility. Handicap daycare facilities catering to disabled adults can apply for licensing through Louisville's Office for Aging and Disabled Citizens.

3. Apply for grant funding through public and governmental funding sources. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Community Development Block Grant program provides funding to local governments to be used toward improving services for vulnerable populations within a community. Contact Kentucky's Cabinet for Health & Human Services to see if they have any current programs to provide grant funding for handicap care facilities.

4. Apply for private grant funding through national organizations involved with handicapped services. For example, the CVS Caremark Charitable Trust makes grant opportunities available to organizations delivering health-care services to disabled children or underserved populations; funding typically ranges from $10,000 to $50,000 per award. Additional grant opportunities may be found by contacting directory networks for disability aid and childcare resources, such as the Disability Funders Network or the National Association of Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies.

5. Utilize other local resources that may help you obtain cheap or free handicap equipment. When grant opportunities are hard to come by, aid may be found through community foundations such as the United Way. Louisville is served by the Metro United Way headquartered on East Broadway. Local hospitals may have handicap-related equipment, which they may be willing to sell at prices that are less than wholesale. Louisville-area hospitals include Norton Audubon and Norton Suburban hospitals as well as the Clark Memorial Hospital in nearby Jeffersonville, Indiana.

Tips & Warnings

• Choosing to operate your handicapped daycare facility as a nonprofit organization rather than a for-profit business may make you eligible for additional grant funding opportunities.

References

• Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services: Division of Regulated Child Care
• Louisville, Kentucky: Office for Aging & Disabled Citizens -- Guide to Information, Services & Resources; 2006
• U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development: Community Development Block Grant Program -- CDBG
• CVS Caremark Charitable Trust
• Disability Funders Network: Programs and Initiatives
• National Association of Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies
• Louisville, Kentucky, Metro United Way: Contact Us