ECGRA Invests nearly $1M in Erie's Childcare Industry
The Erie County Gaming Revenue Authority (ECGRA) announced today the recipients of its second phase of their childcare grants, titled Start Up and Expansions. This $1 million investment supports capital projects to centers across Erie, including facility upgrades, expansions, and improvements. Investing in childcare in Erie is crucial to the continued growth of the county.
The conference was held at ABC Childcare East side location. The center received $50,000 in grant funds to expand its rooms downtown to accomodate a growing waitlist of over 150 children.
"This ECGRA grant is helping us provide more, better quality childcare to the Erie community," said ABC 24Hr Care Owner Tiffany LaVette. "With renovation and expansion, we are able to increase our capactiy to serve our critical downtown location due to increased development aimed to increase the number of children and families that use the area."
"As we see growth in Erie's economy, we must be investing in the supporting infrastructure for those working families and new industries," said ECGRA Executive Director Perry Wood. "Investing in childcare is critical to the long-term success of Erie. That is why we're opening a third phase of funding focused on start-ups to contine supporting this often overlooked industry supporting Erie's working families."
The ECGRA Childcare grant program is partially based around the work that the Jefferson Educational Society published in their 2023 Leadership Academy explored.
"We listened to experts from around the country to explore the complex issues around childcare and to problem solve with practical solutions for our community," said Jefferson Educational Society President Ferki Ferati.
The first phase of grant funding announced in summer 2025, focused on investing in educator retention funding to support staffing. ECGRA will announce the third and final phase of grants later in 2026.
You can find the list of organizations awarded here.
