New loan program aims to bring more childcare options to Oxford

Oxford has launched a forgivable loan program to assist new and growing childcare providers in the city.

Oxford’s Childcare Business Forgivable Loan Program will make up to $30,000 in funds available to qualified applicants to assist with costs related to creating a new licensed childcare business or increasing capacity at an existing one within the city limits. The loan can cover licensure and startup costs, capital costs and workforce development costs.

Seth Cropenbaker, economic development specialist for Oxford, said one of Oxford City Council’s goals in 2023 was to bring more childcare options into the city. That priority led to the current loan program, which launched in late August.

“The issue was really exacerbated by covid … We’re hoping to support addition of new childcare, and that’s really where this program comes in,” Cropenbaker said.

According to the Ohio Department of Children and Youth, Oxford has currently five licensed childcare centers including Christian Co-op Nursery School and Rainbow Days, the Fitton Family YMCA after school program at Kramer Elementary, the GMV YMCA program at Marshall, Miami University’s Child Development Center, also known as Mini University, and Oxford Parks and Recreation’s preschool at the TRI Community Center. The state does not list any licensed home-based childcare providers in Oxford.

To qualify for a loan, Cropenbaker said childcare providers will have to be licensed or obtain licensure within a year of receiving the loan. Recipients will have up to 12 months to spend their funds and must then stay in operation for at least a year afterward. If recipients don’t meet the terms of the loan laid out on the program’s website, Cropenbaker said the city will have the ability to take the funds back, while those who do meet the requirements will have the loan forgiven.

The funding for the forgivable loan program came from investment growth from the city’s revolving loan fund over the past three years, Cropenbaker said.

“We’ve really opened up how you can use these funds,” Cropenbaker said. “It’s really for any related expense … finishing a basement, buying books and toys and things like that. It could be for training … It could be educational expenses, operational expenses, marketing, really any expense that you can relate to childcare qualifies.”

Jason Merz, principal of Kramer Elementary, said the Fitton Center YMCA operates an after school program each day until 6 p.m. at Kramer. The program used to include before school care when the elementary students didn’t start until after 9 a.m., but with start times at 8:05 a.m. Merz said demand for that has gone down.

“The YMCA has done a real good job at looking at their enrollment and then hiring people to meet those needs,” Merz said. This year, between 14 and 16 students typically stay after school each day. When that number rose to roughly 24 one year, Merz said the YMCA was able to pull employees from different branches across the county to help out.

While the Talawanda School District considered the possibility of expanding the after school care program to Bogan and Marshall Elementary, Merz said there ultimately wasn’t enough demand. Even though there aren’t too many licensed childcare providers within Oxford, Merz said parents the school district’s parents have always been supportive of one another to meet needs.

“Our families do a real good job of networking, being resourceful with one another, and seeing how they can help each other,” Merz said.

People and businesses interested in the childcare forgivable loan program can fill out a pre-application form on the city’s website at www.cityofoxford.org. The website also contains additional details about the loan, and the program does not currently have a deadline to apply.