Committee offers three-pronged approach to solve child care shortage

Aug. 29--FAIRFIELD -- A child care steering committee consisting of business and community leaders and childcare providers has a three-pronged plan to meet child care needs of Jefferson County.

The committee, formed in November following a child-care forum, suggests expanding existing childcare facilities, recruiting new home child care providers and building a new child care center in Fairfield.

Tammy Wetjen-Kesterson, director of Early Childhood Iowa for Iowa, Jefferson and Keokuk Counties, and Joshua Laraby, executive director of Fairfield Economic Development Association updated Jefferson County supervisors on the committee's work.

Child care is a workforce development issue, Laraby told supervisors Monday. The two issues cited most often by businesses as limiting their growth are affordable housing and child care, he said.

The lack of affordable, quality child care caps how well existing businesses can expand and the ability to bring in new businesses, Laraby said.

To encourage existing child care providers to expand, the steering committee will offer child care financial modeling, child care expansion grants, a child care nurse consultant and professional development classes, Wetjen-Kesterson said.

According to a child care market analysis, Jefferson County is short 137 infant slots, Wetjen-Kesterson said. That takes into account parents who choose to have family members take care of their infants.

The only two child care facilities in Jefferson County that take infants are Community Child Care Center in Fairfield and Pekin Child Care Center. The Pekin facility recently expanded utilizing child care nurse consultant funds, Wetjen-Kesterson said.

The committee hopes to increase the number of in-home child care providers by offering an incentive program, a nurse consultant and professional development classes. The goal is not simply to add providers, but to keep them.

"We don't want to get them started and [have them] go away in a couple of years," Wetjen-Kesterson said.

The third prong of attack is to create a new child care facility in Fairfield.

"We're looking at different sites and existing buildings," said Laraby, but building new is not necessarily more expensive than renovating an existing building.

"The child care nurse consultant will be our most valuable tool," Laraby said. The nurse consultant knows state requirements and will be able to advise the committee how an existing building would have to be changed to meet regulations.

The new child care facility would be run by a new nonprofit organization, Laraby said. The board of directors would include members from both private and public sectors.

Lee Dimmitt wondered if a new county facility would be compete with private providers, but Wetjen-Kesterson said the need is so great that she doesn't believe that will be a problem.

In the marketing study, 23 percent of parents said they preferred a child care center while 21 percent preferred a private home.

The bottom line is that they will choose what they can afford, said Dimmitt. "It all comes down to affordability. Child care has become unaffordable."

Businesses show a loss of productivity when parents have difficulty with child care, Laraby said. People have left the workforce due to child care issues.

"There are more jobs in Jefferson County then there are people," Laraby said, but the county needs child care to entice workers to move there.

In Iowa, families often need both parents working in order to achieve financial stability, said Wetjen-Kesterson. "Wages are not going up," Wetjen-Kesterson said. "Household income is not going up."

Some women want to work. Some have chosen to stay home. Both were part of the market study.

"We're moving forward to embrace a challenge in your community," Wetjen-Kesterson said.

Reporter Winona Whitaker can be contacted at wwhitaker@ottumwacourier.com and followed on Twitter @courierwinona.

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