Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch and the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs  announced the first round of 2023 Community Development Block Grants is now open for applications

The following programs are currently accepting applications:

Proposal submissions will be collected via the Electronic Grants Management System, or eGMS. Instructions can be found at in.gov/ocra/cdbg.

2023 Round 1 proposals must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. ET on Friday, April 28, 2023, via the Indiana Electronic Grants Management System, found here. Communities are encouraged to submit their applications prior to 4 p.m. on April 28, 2023, as technical assistance will not be available after that time.  

2023 Round 1 applications must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. ET on June 30, 2023, also via the Indiana Electronic Grants Management System. Applicants are encouraged to submit their applications prior to 4 p.m. on June 30, 2023, as technical assistance will not be available after that time.

Note: Changes proposed in the 2023 Action Plan will not go into effect until CDBG 2023 Round 2.

Funding for all CDBG programs comes from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and is administered by OCRA. The state of Indiana distributes CDBG funds to rural communities to assist units of local government with various community projects like improving infrastructure, downtown revitalization, public facilities improvements and economic development.

INDOT is highly encouraging local communities to apply directly to USDOT for the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Discretionary Grant Program and have pledged to provide support letters and informal consultation to assist local units in applying for this grant.

U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) opened applications for the first round of funding for the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure (CFI) Discretionary Grant Program. 

The multi-billion-dollar program will fund electric vehicle (EV) charging and alternative-fueling infrastructure in communities across the country and along designated highways, interstates, and major roadways.

This program, established by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, will provide $2.5 billion over five years to a wide range of applicants, including cities, counties, local governments, and tribes. The CFI Discretionary Grant Program builds on the $5 billion National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program, for which the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) published finalized minimum standards earlier this month.

This first round of funding makes up to $700 million from Fiscal Years (FY) 2022 and 2023 funding available to strategically deploy EV charging and other alternative vehicle-fueling infrastructure projects in publicly accessible locations in urban and rural communities, as well as along designated Alternative Fuel Corridors (AFCs). 

A priority of the CFI Discretionary Grant Program is bringing EV charging into urban and rural communities; downtown areas and local neighborhoods, particularly in underserved and disadvantaged communities; as well as to designated alternative fuel corridors.

FHWA seeks to fund projects that address environmental justice, particularly for communities such as rural and low- and moderate-income neighborhoods that may disproportionately experience the consequences of climate change and other pollutants. 

$10 million in funds available to help expand high quality early education in Indiana
 
INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana’s Office of Early Childhood and Out-of-School Learning today announced that $10 million in funding is available to child care and early education providers to expand access to high-quality early education for Hoosier families.

“This Child Care Expansion Grant provides a great opportunity for child care providers who are looking to grow their businesses and serve more children and families, particularly in underserved areas of Indiana, or to expand availability to priority age groups where care is often hardest to find,” said Courtney Penn, director of FSSA’s Office of Early Childhood and Out-of-School Learning. "The first five years of a child’s life are the most significant to build a strong foundation for future success. We welcome the opportunity to partner with providers to serve hard-working Hoosier families." 

The funds for this program are made possible through Senate Enrolled Act 2 from the 2022 Indiana General Assembly special session, as well as funding from the federal American Rescue Plan Act.

The grant will be competitive with funding offered across two tracks:

This expansion grant helps to build upon FSSA’s recent work to help stabilize and grow child care in Indiana to support child care providers and build available child care capacity. This includes:
•
Providing $542 million in stabilization grants in 2021 and 2022 to more than 3,300 child care providers to help them rebuild after the instability caused by the pandemic.
o These investments directly strengthened the workforce, leading to a 29% decrease in vacant child care and early learning teaching positions from 2021 to 2022.
• Assembling a working group of child care professionals to review current licensing rules and regulations and make recommendations to remove barriers that make licensing more burdensome than necessary.
• Analyzing the data received during the stabilization grant process to help reevaluate reimbursement rates to providers, to make them more in-line with the actual cost of child care.

The Office of Early Childhood and Out-of-School Learning is a division of the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration. Child care providers may send questions to [email protected].

News Media Contact:
Marni Lemons
317-234-5287 (Office)
317-407-3858 (Mobile)
[email protected]