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Child-care facilities are requesting more than $1 million from a new state grant program that has just $250,000 to award.

The Oct. 31 deadline for the first of two grant rounds brought roughly 380 applications, said Gordon La France, manager of the child-care grant program in the N.D. Commerce Department.

A second grant round early next year will award another $250,000. The 2009 North Dakota Legislature appropriated $500,000 for the biennium. Grant awards are limited to $5,000 for infrastructure, such as equipment or building improvements, and $10,000 for technical assistance or development of a business plan.

La France said the main criteria in this grant round is safety.

"We want to make sure the kids are safe and have a good environment," he said.

As of last Wednesday, the program had received requests totaling about $900,000, but about 100 additional applications arrived after that date. Ten applications had come from Minot providers by Wednesday.

La France said applications have come from all across the state. Child-care providers are eligible to apply whether they are home- or center-based, for-profit, non-profit or publicly run. They must be licensed. There are about 1,500 licensed child-care operations in the state.

Good Shepherd Day Care Center in Minot applied for money to replace aged kitchen and bathroom tiles that are coming loose. The $3,000 cost is more than the center can afford, said director Sherry Wagner, who called the grant program a wonderful opportunity for the state's child-care providers.

The Minot YWCA is waiting until the 2010 grant round to make an application for its child-care facility, said Deb Kunkel, executive director. The YWCA is looking for a different building and expects to make a request for money for a fire-safety sprinkler system or other safety improvements once a building has been acquired.

Little Hands Loving Hearts also hopes to apply for grant money in the next round. Terry Voeller, director, said the facility was unable to apply in the first round because it is not yet licensed. The new facility's target opening date is Jan. 4.

Some other child-care centers have passed on this grant round due to adequate funding for current infrastructure needs.

KarlaRae Sivertson, president of the Child Care Association of Minot, said many home child-care providers are interested in the program but don't necessarily need $750, which is the minimum that can be requested. Many providers also haven't requested grants before and are hesitant about the process, she said.

Wagner said the application she completed for Good Shepherd was simple, quick and required no grant-writing skills.

"I was just thrilled how easy the application was," she said.

Kristi Asendorf, program supervisor for Child Care Resource & Referral in Minot, said another issue for providers is finding a way to come up with the required 25 percent match. They also might have difficulty if they need to pay money up-front, she said. Grants are paid on a reimbursement basis after projects are complete.

Fewer providers in the state are taking up the offer of a low-interest loan through another new state program in the Commerce Department.

The Legislature appropriated $1.25 million to the child-care loan program. The program can provide up to $100,000 in a low-interest loan from the North Dakota Development Fund to buy, lease or remodel real estate, to buy equipment or for working capital. The program runs through June 30, 2011.

Dean Reese, chief executive officer for the North Dakota Development Fund, said there's been many inquiries, and several loan applications have come in recently.

"There's some interest out there, obviously, and need," he said.

The interest has come largely from the eastern two-thirds of the state, he said. Applicants have been existing child-care facilities, from long-time businesses to those less than a year old.