Child care and summer camp providers in Anchorage can apply for stimulus money from the city starting this week to offset operating costs. Thread, a statewide child care nonprofit, will distribute the $2.3 million in funding from city marijuana taxes.
Thread CEO Stephanie Berglund said the money is meant to ensure no more child care facilities close. Anchorage had over 300 child care businesses as recently as 2015, but only about 180 remain.
“There's a huge gap between the demand and the supply in the city, and we don't want to see any more childcare and early education programs close,” Berglund said. “We're hopeful that these dollars can help provide some operating support for programs, but also maybe an opportunity for them to hire an additional teacher to open that last classroom, or to be able to fully utilize the capacity that they have in their program and maybe aren’t able to offer right now.”
Anchorage voters passed Proposition 14 in 2023, allowing the city to distribute taxes collected from marijuana sales to local child care and early development programs. The stimulus program administered by thread is called “Steady Child Care.”
The Anchorage Child Care and Early Education Fund board will also award over $1 million to child care industry employees to help cover their own child care costs, and another $2 million for infrastructure projects. The application period for those pilot projects has closed, and money will be awarded later this summer. Austin Quinn-Davidson is the board’s interim executive director.
“For us to see this idea turn into reality and see money actually getting out in the community this summer to those who need it, to keep these businesses functioning and keep them serving Anchorage families, is just really exciting,” Quinn-Davidson said.
Quinn-Davidson encouraged Anchorage parents and child care providers to share any concerns about the programs with the board during the July 1 meeting at City Hall, prior to the August rollout of the board’s 2026 budget.
About $9 million in Anchorage marijuana taxes will be distributed this year to three major programs to support the child care industry. Annually, the city’s marijuana taxes generate about $5 million.
Berglund hopes the money will lead to expanded child care offerings in Anchorage.
“We know the top two costs that child care programs have are for facilities and their staff costs,” Berglund said. “We're hopeful that this brings some stability and really stimulus to the operating needs of child care programs in the city.”
The application will be open through July 6 for providers in Anchorage. Money will be awarded in August and September to qualified, licensed child care and American Camp Association operators, as well as legal child care providers of four or fewer children who they are not related to. Berglund said thread will host a fall summit on the impact of rising child care costs in Anchorage.
