Finding child care can be tough for working parents

MILLERSBURG — Jobs may be available in abundance in the Wayne and Holmes County area, but when it comes to deciding what to do with their children, potential job seekers have some tough decisions.

Between Wayne and Holmes County, there are 16 licensed private day care providers aside from day care centers which are funded through the state.

There are other alternatives in the private sector, such as unlicensed, in-home day care or using Amish babysitters.

The Job & Family Services only helps with paying for childcare with licensed day care providers.

Eligibility is the same county to county.

The standard is 130 percent of the federal poverty level, according to Patty Roberts, child care worker with Holmes County Job & Family Services.

“We have several day care providers in Holmes County and a couple in Wayne County,” Roberts said. “The issue we have is, we have providers that are publicly funded, but they don’t have room to take on more children.

“We also contract with any day care center,” adds JFS Program Manager Buffy Mirich, but there are no licensed private day care centers in Millersburg.

“It’s challenging,” Mirich said. “It’s too bad there isn’t a day care center here.”

Mirich says she made referrals to former day care centers in Millersburg no longer in business. She isn’t sure why there are none, but she suspects the long hours and low pay associated with day care operation is part of the problem, as well as all the regulations.

Rebecca Cleaver, owner of ‘Round The Clock Day Care in Wooster agrees, noting it is hard to get and keep good, quality personnel, because of the long hours and low pay.

If the day care center received state funding, employees have to go through the Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and through the state.

“It’s really hard to hire people,” Cleaver said. “You can’t just hire anyone. They require a high school diploma, a physical, a willingness to pursue further education, as a state mandate requires 20 hours of growth and development training.”

People receiving funding through JFS can have a co-pay or they may not have to pay anything at all, depending upon their income.

“We’ve had some parents who got a raise at work and wound up losing their day care (funding),” ‘Round the Clock Director Heather Tressenrider said. “It creates a catch-22, where you are getting promoted at work, but now you have to pay out of your pocket for day care.”

Cleaver previously had operated an in-home day care center that was open 24 hours. She tried the same program when she opened ‘Round the Clock, but eventually cut back to 11 p.m., and then eliminated the night hours altogether, staying open until 7 p.m.

People working second or third shift tend to depend more on their families or private day care, she said.

‘Round the Clock Daycare is open from 5:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. and provides dinner for the kids who are there later in the evening.

It’s a Type A facility, which allows caring for up to 12 kids at any time, and it’s operating close to capacity of 64 children total. There are 12 employees.

Wee Care is housed in the First Presbyterian Church at 621 College Ave. in Wooster.

“We’re a mission of the church, but we’re not a church program,” said Deanna Hilliard, executive director at Wee Care.

Wee Care is licensed for 88 children. There cannot be more than 24 kids in a pre-K classroom.

“Scheduling of the children is very important,” Hilliard said. “Some kids come Monday, Wednesday and Friday, others on different days. We are open five days a week, 6 a.m to 6 p.m.

“We’re one of two day care centers in Wooster that operates on a sliding fee scale,” Hilliard added. “We take children who are two-and-a half years old and potty trained, up through third grade.”

“If families qualify for JFS, we have them sign up for that,” she said. “If they don’t qualify, then their daily rate is based on where they fall under their annual income.

“I have seen families with two children going five days a week to daycare, paying over $1,000 a month,” Howland said. “It’s based on need and there are a lot of factors involved. The lowest we go, is under $20,000. For less than five hours, it’s $13 a day. For more than five hours a day, it’s $16 a day. If you look at the lowest amount and multiply it times five days, you’re looking at a significant amount spent on day care.”

If a family is at the top rate, with one child coming five times a week, that will be $32 a day. If you have two children, it would be $32, and $28. That’s $60 a day for day care.

“And we have some of the lowest rates in Wayne County,” she added.

Hilliard says the biggest challenge they face is finding top quality people to employ, particularly since Wee Care is a Step Up to Quality Center, based on a tougher state rating system.

“With Step Up to Quality, only certified day care providers are eligible to work,” she said. “We have teachers with their CDA, an associates degree, their bachelors and we even have a teacher with her master’s degree. You can imagine, for non-profit child care, they’re not making near what their degree entitles them to be making.

“Anybody getting early education knows, they aren’t doing it for the money. They do it from the heart,” Hilliard said.

— Contact reporter Kevin Lynch at 330-674-5676 or at klynch@the-daily-record.com.

CREDIT: KEVIN LYNCH