Child care workers across Oklahoma to receive $1,000 retention, incentive payments

The Oklahoma Department of Human Services (OKDHS) expects to dole out $1,000 retention and incentive payments to child care workers across the state this month.

Director and Owner of Jewel’s Place Enrichment Center Mattece Mason has taken care of children in north Tulsa for 20 years. Her staff of 10 cares for up to 70 children aged 6 weeks to 12 years old.

As FOX23 has reported for months, Mason and her staff are no strangers to the challenges the pandemic has had on the child care industry. She told FOX23 number of students and staff have moved from low to high as pandemic times have evolved, keeping morale up has been tough, and her center struggles to compete against larger facilities that can pay more.

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So, to find out about $1000 payments from the OKDHS for each of her staff members, including herself, was very welcome news. She said Wednesday, “they were just really thankful and appreciative and really it was like, that solemn look like ‘Wow, they do see my value.’”

According to Oklahoma Human Services Child Care Services Director Brittany Lee, these payments come from American Rescue Plan money. She said while flexible in how this money could be used, the department chose to dole out it out in this way.

At this point, the department says more than 13,000 child care workers, like Mason, have been approved for the payments through the Care for Kids campaign across 2,900 child care facilities.

Lee said, “We are really hoping that this money not only just pours into them and allows them to know that they are important, the work they do, it matters, we’re really hoping to continue to enforce that child care is important, and we want the workforce to come back into this space.”

Mason said the money will do just that. And, this is funding that will ultimately help our children, through helping these workers.

OKDHS said child care workers receiving the first round of payments should see their money by the end of the month. Lee said there is currently no cap on the amount of money that will be given out through this campaign.

She expects the next round of payments to become available in the new year.