Unemployment vs Stimulus Bill

[Ac114]

Hi Tom,

I’ve been checking you blog out the last few days to see any new updates on unemployment benefits for in home providers. I’m a little confused and wanted to clarification. You stated that a law was recently passed to allow childcare providers to claim unemployment and will update your blog with that information in a few days. Are you talking about the new stimulus bill or is this a true unemployment claim? My state (Ohio) has asked for disaster unemployment assistance from the federal government but nothing has come through yet. Our state has shut down all centers and you must apply for a pandemic license to operate but that does not cover license exempt in home providers. We either close down voluntarily, take a huge income loss from loss of spots or continue to operate. I’ve decided to close for 2 weeks for the stay put order because my son and husband are considered high risk but I would ultimately like to close for another month. Please help!

[tn0087]

Hi AC,
I'm obviously not Tom, but I think he touched on this on his blog: http://tomcopelandblog.com/are-famil...yment-benefits.
Since your state has not required in home daycares to close, I don't believe you can apply for unemployment yet. I've also posted a question to Tom regarding some of the stimulus options, but I'm sure the quickly changing legislation right now makes it difficult for him to respond with any true guidance.
For us, I'm watching the evolution of the Paycheck Protection Program(https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs...on-program-ppp) that lenders are supposed to begin accepting applications for on Friday (for sole proprietors, april 10th for self-employed).

It's important to note this is still a LOAN with the potential of forgiveness based on how the funds are used. But if you pursue it, you should expect to pay back funds unless you get confirmation of forgiveness from the lender. It's all quite a lot to digest, but if something you're considering, maybe reach out to your bank to see if they are participating in the program. Applications will be directed to lenders and not processed through the IRS or SBA.

Best of luck to you!

[tn0087]

Perhaps a potential avenue for unemployment would be the high risk group for your husband/son, so that might be an option? (check out https://www.daycare.com/forum/showthread.php?t=93231).

[Ac114]

He updated the blog stating that you can claim unemployment if you choose to voluntarily close and will provide more info soon so that’s what I wanted clarification on. I don’t plan on applying for the loan. I don’t want to further myself in debt if it’s avoidable.
Thanks for the info though!

[TomCopeland]

Originally Posted by Ac114

Hi Tom,

I’ve been checking you blog out the last few days to see any new updates on unemployment benefits for in home providers. I’m a little confused and wanted to clarification. You stated that a law was recently passed to allow childcare providers to claim unemployment and will update your blog with that information in a few days. Are you talking about the new stimulus bill or is this a true unemployment claim? My state (Ohio) has asked for disaster unemployment assistance from the federal government but nothing has come through yet. Our state has shut down all centers and you must apply for a pandemic license to operate but that does not cover license exempt in home providers. We either close down voluntarily, take a huge income loss from loss of spots or continue to operate. I’ve decided to close for 2 weeks for the stay put order because my son and husband are considered high risk but I would ultimately like to close for another month. Please help!

I updated my article to say that providers who lose income whether they are open or closed are entitled to unemployment benefits. They will get whatever state benefits they are eligible for, plus $600 a week from the federal government. Many states are not yet set up to accept unemployment applications, but hopefully this will get fixed soon. Providers are eligible for the new loan/grant program from SBA. Since some of this loan is foregiveable, I would encourage providers to apply. I'll be writing about this on my website soon.

[VAmomof4]

Tom, does this include VA as well for unemployment?
Is the $600 weekly the loan that will need to be paid back ?

[TomCopeland]

Originally Posted by VAmomof4

Tom, does this include VA as well for unemployment?
Is the $600 weekly the loan that will need to be paid back ?

What is VA? The added $600 a week in federal unemployment benefits are taxable income that don't need to be paid back.

[BoysMom]

Tom, how do we go about applying for the pandemic unemployment? I started filling out the online application for standard unemployment for my state (CA) but a lot of the questions it asked didn't apply to me, so I stopped. Is there a separate application for those who don't usually qualify for unemployment or how do I answer questions that aren't relevant (like what other fields of employment would I be able to work in)?

[megoddess444]

Hi there. I keep looking too. The edd site is very confusing. But what I finally stumbled upon is it’s not available for us yet.
It says “federal funds not available yet”

[TomCopeland]

Originally Posted by BoysMom

Tom, how do we go about applying for the pandemic unemployment? I started filling out the online application for standard unemployment for my state (CA) but a lot of the questions it asked didn't apply to me, so I stopped. Is there a separate application for those who don't usually qualify for unemployment or how do I answer questions that aren't relevant (like what other fields of employment would I be able to work in)?

This is not uncommon. Most states haven't yet updated their online application form to address the self employed. You'll just have to wait until they catch up. Unemployment benefits are retroactive so you don't lose anything, other than not getting the benefits right away. Hang in there.