Discretionary Bonuses for Daycare Centers

The grant will also include discretionary funds for center directors to use for additional merit bonuses for full or part-time staff members who exemplify excellence. If a center director is awarded a discretionary bonus, the amount must be at or below the bonus allotted to the staff. The amount of discretionary funds is calculated based on the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) staff at the center. For each FTE, $150 in discretionary funds are available annually, during this 5-year pilot. Here are two simple ways to calculate FTEs: If the center utilizes a payroll software, you should be able to get this total for the most recent 12 full calendar months directly from one of your payroll software reports. If the center does not utilize a payroll software, use the W-2 forms for all employees from the last full calendar year. Divide each employee’s gross wages shown on the W-2, by their pay rate, to get each employee’s hours Add all the hours from every employee together. Divide that number by 1560 to get FTEs (calculated on a 30-hour work week.) The grant application includes a worksheet to calculate both the discretionary and longevity bonuses for the applying center.

Bonuses for part time staff at qualifying group homes

Discretionary bonuses are not available for group homes. If a qualifying group home has part-time staff, the staff member is eligible for a smaller longevity bonus based on hours worked per week. Group home staff members who are regularly scheduled from 15-29 hours per week, can earn a longevity bonus of: