The Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors approved over $5 million in funding to advance Stanislaus 2030 initiatives from strategic planning into full implementation.
This significant investment boosts Stanislaus 2030’s goal of developing an inclusive economy in several key areas: Child Care Expansion, Small Business Supports, and Talent Development.
"The County's investment in and approval of the community organizations that will administer this funding is about the distributed implementation of multiple projects to advance an inclusive economy in our region,” said Amanda Hughes, Stanislaus 2030 Executive Director. “Everyone owns a different component of the work, which will continue to help catalyze and build momentum.”
Key Investments and Implementation
The $5,065,500 million funding package is distributed across several crucial areas:
Child Care Expansion: $1 million toward Child Care Expansion that will be administered by First 5 Stanislaus. These funds will support the Stanislaus 2030 Child Care Implementation Plan, which aims to scale home-based child care entrepreneurship across the county. Stanislaus 2030 and First 5 will continue to engage collaborative partners over the next two years to achieve the goal of launching or expanding 200 home-based childcare businesses, which will create an additional 1,600 licensed child care spaces across the county.
Small Business Development: $2 million from Stanislaus County will be administered by the Stanislaus Workforce Development Agency to manage projects to bolster the small business ecosystem, including launching a one-stop platform for businesses to access support & financing, a CDFI Cohort Program to manage loans and provide Technical Assistance, and a Business Support Cohort Program to build & expand capacity for businesses to develop service offerings, streamline operations, and improve service delivery. Considering that 99.9% of businesses in Stanislaus County are small businesses, with 56.8% of Stanislaus’ workforce employed by a small business, this funding will be instrumental in catalyzing the bedrock of the region’s economy.
Talent Development: $1.5 million will also be managed by the Stanislaus Workforce Development Agency to strengthen the manufacturing talent pipeline, ensuring the local workforce meets the demands of expanding industries. The fund will offer grants and technical assistance to local education and workforce institutions for programs that advance strategies identified in the Stanislaus County Manufacturing Strategic Workforce Plan, and will enhance industry & education collaboration, address manufacturing perception challenges, improve job quality, expand apprenticeships & other “earn & learn” models, pilot & test innovative strategies to reduce time to certificate/credential completion, and develop robust career pathways.
An additional $565,000 will be allocated to support grant writing, evaluation, and community engagement activities as part of the comprehensive approach of Stanislaus 2030.
This significant investment from the County is the culmination of nearly 18 months of work that started with the Stanislaus Investment Blueprint and will ensure that working families have access to quality child care, that small businesses have what they need to scale, and that the local talent pipeline leads to good jobs in manufacturing.