BATON ROUGE - The Louisiana Department of Education has opened its Child Care Assistance Program to help critical personnel who have to continue working amid the coronavirus outbreak.

According to a news release from the Department of Education Monday, those families can access subsidized care for children ages 12 and younger at licensed child care centers or through registered in-home providers. 

Upon approval, initial certification will be valid for 30 days. If the public health crisis continues beyond 30 days, the LDOE will reassess applications.

Those looking to take advantage of the program will need to complete an application. A list of those considered essential critical infrastructure workers can be found below.

-HealthCare/Public Health
-Law Enforcement, Public Safety, First Responders
-Food and Agriculture
-Energy (electrical industry, petroleum, natural and propane gas workers) 
-Waste and Wastewater
-Transportation and Logistics
-Public  Works
-Communications and Information Technology
-Other Community-Based Government
-Critical Manufacturing
-Hazardous Materials