Jerry Davich: How will Indiana's woeful child-care system handle a potential 8,000 more babies each year?

Times - 8/21/2022

Aug. 21—7,949.

This figure has been bouncing around my head since Indiana lawmakers voted last month for a near-total abortion ban in our conservative-leaning state.

It's the number of terminated pregnancies reported to the Indiana Department of Health in 2021, not counting the number of procedures (465) from out-of-state patients. It's also the highest number of reported abortions in our state in the past decade.

I have one nagging question: how will our state's woeful child-care infrastructure handle a potential 8,000 more Hoosier babies born each year? I'm not the only one wondering this among other valid questions, such as this one from a retired kindergarten teacher from Valparaiso.

"Where will they go?" Laura Van Houten asked. "I am thinking specifically of engaging, affordable, safe, infant/toddler child development centers for families."

With Indiana soon becoming an anti-abortion state, officially taking effect Sept. 15, we should begin searching for solutions to shore up our fractured child-care system. This has quickly become a sensitive topic in the Hoosier State because it involves the new scarlet letter — A, for abortion.

Today's column is the first in a series exploring legitimate questions and a search for plausible answers. For upcoming columns I'm inviting parents, stakeholders, health-care providers and child-care facility directors to join this public dialogue. It's no secret that Indiana ranks low for public health amenities compared to other states.

"Indiana ranks very favorably in economics, opportunity, education and public safety. However, our public-health metrics rank us amongst the lowest in the nation," former state Sen. Luke Kenley, R-Noblesville, said in a Times story by my colleague Dan Carden.

Kenley is co-chairman of the Governor's Public Health Commission, whose latest report reminded Hoosiers that our health-care infrastructure was woefully lacking even before the COVID-19 pandemic.

As Northwest Indiana lays new groundwork for its long-awaited South Shore rail line double-track project, with projected economic growth to follow, residents such as Van Houten are wondering about the overdue groundwork for early childhood care.

"No one — Democrat, Republican, business leaders, community leaders — is looking to build this early childhood infrastructure along with economic infrastructure. How can this be?" she asked. "An early childhood deficit is a business deficit, too."

Even in retirement, she's fighting on behalf of our state's youngest, most vulnerable residents who will someday be needed to continue building the economic prosperity that Indiana leaders are so focused on today.

For those people who value dollars and cents over common sense, here are some financial figures to keep in mind, based on a report by the Strosacker Early Learning Fellows (SELF) initiative, launched by the Center for Early Learning at Purdue University Northwest:

* Working parents with children under 5 are absent from work on average of 13 days per year because of child-care issues.

* An additional 2.8 percent of working parents quit their jobs to address child- care needs.

* And the return on investment for high-quality early childhood education programs comes down to a benefit of roughly $4 for every $1 invested.

SELF recognizes that Northwest Indiana's youngest citizens need prominent champions who are knowledgeable about current research and understand the significance of high-quality early experiences for children.

Another nagging question: how will these new Hoosier babies be protected from dying before they become toddlers or teenagers? Indiana's infant mortality death rate (6.55) is currently in the top 10 for states, according to most recent federal data.

In 2019, there were 527 infant deaths across the state, with 522 babies dying before their first birthday in 2020, according to the Indiana Health Information Exchange.

The organization recently announced a partnership with Indiana Department of Health, allowing both agencies to make data-sharing advancements in key areas such as improving maternal and infant outcomes. This is the kind of merger our state needs to address our chronic problem.

For years, I've received complaints about child-care accessibility and affordability in our region. Too many parents of young children are forced to make difficult decisions between raising a child versus earning a living. How much more will the child-care and health-care systems be stressed with the possible addition of thousands of more babies?

"Our youngest Hoosiers and their families deserve better than nothing," Van Houten said.

I'm a pragmatist, not an activist, when it comes to the issue of abortion. I'm pro-choice, so I was disappointed when our state lawmakers voted to ban abortion in most cases.

Still, if this is the new reality in Indiana for the foreseeable future, I'm interested in the potential counter effect of this statewide ban. Sure, many women and couples will travel to Illinois or elsewhere to now get an abortion, but I wonder how many babies will come into existence who otherwise wouldn't have done so?

"You may be surprised to learn that we really are on the right side of a better road to the future, speeding away from some of the unscientific practices of the past," said Cy Huerter, a longtime member of the nonprofit organization Lake County Right to Life (www.lakeloveslife.org).

I've been in contact with Huerter for many years about this controversial issue. Not once, until now, did I consider the child-care ramifications of an abortion ban in our state.

"The abortion fight is not about religion as much as it is about science," Huerter told me. "With DNA, science has shown a long time ago that with conception a new and unique human begins. The only difference between this new human and you and me is time and nutrition."

Is our state prepared for these new humans? This is the question I will be exploring in this series of columns.

Contact Jerry at Jerry.Davich@nwi.com or at 219-853-2563. Opinions are those of the writer.