By The Associated Press

INDIANAPOLIS — The Lilly Endowment is providing a $15.7 million grant to Indiana's largest early childhood education nonprofit to reinforce child care opportunities, especially for vulnerable children, amid the coronavirus outbreak.

The Early Learning Indiana nonprofit will use the money to launch a fund that will offer grants to providers to offset new expenses to safely operate. Such expenses include measures such as better sanitation practices, promoting social distancing, adopting new staffing and expanding to serve more children.

Licensed and registered centers, ministries and family child care home providers are eligible to apply. Grants of up to $40,000 will be offered based on the number of children served, with an additional sum available to providers with a quarter or more of their enrolled children receiving federal welfare assistance from the state of Indiana.

Early child care organizations can learn more and apply at www.earlylearningin.org/comebackstronger. Guidelines and application instructions will be available Tuesday.