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Two Fort Dodge child care centers have been awarded state grants totalling more than $1 million to support their efforts to meet the demand for day care in the community.
Childcare Discovery Center received $734,837 to help its effort to build a new facility near 14th Avenue North and 32nd Street.
Community Early Childhood Center, 1315 S. 24th St., received a $330,600 grant to pay for new equipment and furnishings needed for a planned addition.
The grants were announced Wednesday.
The money comes from the Future Ready Iowa Child Care Challenge Fund administered by Iowa Workforce Development.
The grant awards come as the community grapples with a shortage of available spaces in child care programs. The group Linking Families and Communities found 1,743 available spaces in child care programs in Webster County, but 4,673 youngsters in need of such care.