CIGARETTE TAX WILL GO TO CHILD CARE GRANTS WILL ASSIST PROVIDERS.

Byline: Troy Anderson  Staff Writer

The first of hundreds of millions of dollars in cigarette tax revenues will be spent on grants to help child care providers train their workers, including workers at centers in the San Fernando Valley, Proposition 10 commission officials said Friday.

The Los Angeles County Children and Families First Proposition 10 Commission, charged with deciding how to spend $165 million a year in new cigarette tax revenues, has made its first decision on how to spend some of the money - allocating $4 million to help child care providers in the county.

The money is expected to provide badly needed funds to help child care providers become licensed and accredited in Los Angeles County, where 68 percent of licensed child care providers for infants to 5-year-olds are unlicensed.

``I think if you have teachers who are educated, trained and aware of new information in the field, it just creates a better environment for the children overall,'' said Donna Halsey, owner of All About Kids in Woodland Hills, who intends to apply for a grant to help pay for equipment and training.

Although the child care facility she has operated since 1976 is licensed, the grant would help her to become accredited, she said.

The commission voted earlier this week to make $4 million available in community grants to local child care centers and home-based providers for the purpose of boosting quality child care for children under the age of five.

The grants, which can be as large as $300,000 for any one recipient, will help child care facilities pay for accreditation materials, fees and application specialists and facility equipment and supplies.

The dollars can also be used to integrate other services such as health screenings and literacy counseling into child care centers.

Profit, not-for-profit and public and private agencies are eligible to apply for the grants, which are expected to be released to child care centers and home providers in late spring.

The $4 million represents a portion of the $25 million in Prop. 10 funds set aside last month by the commission for child care and early learning opportunities.

The remaining $21 million will further address what has become known as the ``trilemma'' of child care: Finding available spaces at licensed care facilities, being able to afford the monthly child care fees and locating a facility staffed with qualified, skilled professionals.

Child care facilities that would like to apply for the grant can call the commission at [phone].