Federal grant adds, expands child care slots in Southwest Missouri

Sept. 21--Ten child care sites are planned to open or expand in the coming months in this region thanks to a $6 million grant awarded earlier this spring to Economic Security Corporation of Southwest Area.

The grant, from the federal Department of Health and Human Services, promotes public-private partnerships to offer licensed child care for infants and toddlers.

Construction has been completed in two of three sites in Carthage, Noel and Joplin, which will be operated by partnerships with the Carthage Family Literacy Council, the Noel Public Housing Authority and ESC's Early Head Start program.

Four additional licensed sites are nearing completion, including one in the Lamar School District, two in Joplin and one that will open in Neosho. Written contracts are being developed with other partners in Southwest City, Webb City and Joplin.

All classrooms will be licensed and will serve up to approximately 74 children from birth to 3 years, and priority will be given to families that are working or going to school. More than 50 jobs are expected to be created.

ESC's Early Head start program was the only one in Region VII Head Start -- consisting of Missouri, Kansas, Iowa and Nebraska -- to receive the grant, partly because of a needs assessment that the nonprofit organization completed last year, said Debbie Markman, resource development director.

"We found, kind of notably, that Barton and McDonald counties really didn't have enough early child care opportunities, and they had a significant number of children in that age category," she said.

'The need is there'

At the South Joplin Early Head Start program, where the waiting list for child care averages more than 40 names on it, the grant has expanded the infants and toddlers classroom from eight to 16 pupils, said Leisa Harnar, operations and development director for Early Head Start.

"Although we have licensed child care in Jasper County, as far as licensed child care for families who are in poverty, it's just not affordable," she said.

A family with two parents working minimum wage jobs and with two children would qualify for free child care under the program, she said. Additional services offered by ESC could simultaneously assist the parents with seeking higher-paying jobs or schooling to help them move out of poverty, she said.

"The need (for affordable child care) is there for families," Harnar said. "I really just think child care is a barrier. If you can't afford it, you can't work or go to school."

The grant also is allowing Christine Baird to expand her child care facility, Footprints & Friends Preschool on Fir Road, into a second building, Footprints & Friends Too on North Main Street. She said she applied to partner with ESC for the project because she had a waiting list but limited means to expand on her own.

With the grant, she has added eight Early Head Start slots as well as six much-needed slots for infants at her new building.

"We need more quality care, but it's not just for the kids," Baird said. "Partnering with Early Head Start opens up opportunities for continuing education for my staff. It benefits everybody."

Help for student parents

In Lamar, the grant has helped remodel a small, two-story house, which for years has been owned by the school district, into an early childhood classroom and space for ESC's outreach office.

The property will be leased from the school district by ESC, which also will provide staffing. The classroom will be licensed for eight pupils, although there are currently only enough funds for four.

Priority access will be given to Lamar students who need child care, Superintendent Zach Harris said.

"If, for example, we had a high school student that had a child, they would have priority access to the facility for day care purposes, and what ESC can provide is a long-term parenting plan as well as additional resources that the parent might need," he said. "The big picture for Lamar is we're able to provide opportunities for that high school student to stay enrolled in school, complete their high school graduation requirements and have access to their child, if needed, during specific times of the day."

Harris said the district also hopes to use the child care classroom in the future as a training ground for high school students who want to pursue early childhood education. He said he envisions allowing high schoolers to receive job-shadow opportunities there, although he added that there is "a little work to do" before adding that component.

Harris said he is excited to have the new classroom in place within the next few weeks.

"It meets a need that our community obviously had, based on the number of kids already on the waiting list to get into the program," he said.

New lease on life

In Carthage, ESC will lease more than half of the building owned by the Carthage Family Literacy Council to provide three classrooms for a total capacity of 24 infant slots, said Larry Hartman, president of its board of directors.

The literacy council in years past had offered tutoring services before shifting to providing books to local children through programs such as Parents as Teachers, but its building had largely sat unused in recent years, he said. The money that the council receives from the lease will be used to purchase books for the community in support of its mission, he said.

"I just don't think there could be a better use for that building," Hartman said of the new classrooms. "I am so excited that the building has gone from a literacy center to, in fact, another kind of literacy center. I'm just really tickled that that's what we were able to do."

Anyone interested in applying for child care through ESC can contact Travis Crusa at 417-627-2056 or tcrusa@escswa.org.

Upcoming open houses

--9:30 to 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 4, at the Carthage Family Literacy Council, 706 Orchard St.The Carthage Area Chamber of Commerce will host a ribbon-cutting at 10 a.m.

--9 to 11 a.m. Friday, Oct. 6, at South Joplin Early Head Start, 4302 S. Richard Joseph Blvd.The Joplin Area Chamber of Commerce will host a ribbon-cutting at 10 a.m.

--11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 10, at the Lamar School District, 405 Walnut St.The Barton County Chamber of Commerce will host a ribbon-cutting at noon.

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