By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
A recent survey conducted in Ellis County on child care found 151 individuals — 97 percent of those individuals seeking child care — would return to the work force if they had affordable child care.
Ninety percent of the respondents to this portion of the survey were women and 45 percent of those respondents had bachelor's degrees.
In a county with a unemployment rate of 1.4 percent as of December, that is significant, said Sarah Wasinger, Hays Chamber executive director.
"There's lots of mothers who are staying at home and providing child care for their children instead of working," Wasinger said. "We know additionally they would bring in an additional $40,000 to $50,000 in income each year if they would be able to work."
The survey included about 800 respondents who self-selected to take the survey. Wasinger said the survey likely does not reflect all the needs in the community, only the data the survey could capture.
The top three barriers to finding care were listed as cost, dependable care and quality of care, with the later two rankings very close behind cost.
On average in Kansas about 7 percent of a family's income is spent on child care, but Ellis County exceeds that at between 11 and 12 percent, Wasinger said.
Child care gap
Although these three factors were paramount in parents' minds, many parents in Ellis County and across northwest Kansas are caught in the child care gap.
Ellis County has eight child care centers and 79 family child care homes. Child care has about an $11.4 million impact on the county, according to Child Care Aware of Kansas.
Care for infants and toddlers is especially critical. According to a 2020 child care demand study, Ellis County had one child care opening for every 10 children in need of care younger than 3.
However, Jewell, Decatur and Gove counties had no infant or toddler spots. Thomas County had 31 to 40 children for every opening, and Norton County had 21 to 30 children for every open spot.
Before the pandemic in 2019, the state reported the child care gap to be 35.5 percent with an economic impact of $2.2 to $3.3 billion.
Wasinger, who is a member of the Child Care Task Force of Ellis County, said. The pandemic has worsened the issue, as more home-based care providers have chosen to close.
Effects of child care on local business
Members of the Child Care Task Force of Ellis County met Thursday with state representatives of Child Care Aware of Kansas and related child care support agencies.
The group discussed the importance of child care to maintaining a quality work force, as well as how businesses could support the child care sector.
Sandy Gottschalk, HaysMed Pathways to Excellence coordinator, said child care is a significant issue in staffing. One of the counties largest employers, HaysMed employees 1,500 people.
Brett Schmidt, task force member and owner of Learning Cross Preschool in Hays, said he does not see a desire among businesses to become child care providers. The cost is too high, and they don't want the liability, he said.
However, some businesses in the region have been willing to provide space for outside providers.
Wasinger said some communities have used a pay-to-play model. A business pays to reserve child care spots whether they have employees using the spots or not.
Schmidt said paying to reserve spots is becoming more common. Some families are waiting to start families until they know they have a spot reserved.
Child care work force issues
The group discussed ways of providing incentives for new providers to enter the market, as well as existing providers to expand their services.
Schmidt said many barriers exist for providers.
Among the top issues is a stable work force. He said wages tend to be low for child care workers and burn out tends to be high. In addition, child care staff need to have Child Development Accreditation to supervise children in a licensed child care center.
This requires 120 hours of early childhood education, 480 hours for work experience with children, an exam and a verification visit.
Sarah Meitner, task force member and director of the Heartland Community Foundation, suggested local students could be working toward their accreditation while in high school. This would provide extra hands for child care providers and help produce a new crop of professionals entering the workforce upon graduation.
The state provides scholarships for students who are seeking their accreditation.
The group discussed the use of volunteers, but concerns were raised about training, as well as consistency and safety for the children.
Although funds are needed for start-up costs for centers, funds should also be dedicated for staff recruitment and retention, Schmidt said.
Schmidt suggested providers joining into networks to share employees. He said providers have a great need for substitute staff.
Schmidt also lamented the cost of building or even renting space in Hays can be prohibitive for providers. He said he was lucky his landlord for his second center agreed to keep his rent affordable based on the services he is offering.
Supplemental funding for providers
The group talked about ways organizations, such as Grow Hays and the Heartland Community Foundation, which have non-profit status, could help providers apply for grants to renovate buildings for new child care facilities.
Meitner also suggested a fund could be created within the foundation that could be used to support child care providers. That fund could be the beneficiary of estate gifts, which could allow a donor to give a donation that could grow over time.
The state representatives also discussed a variety of funding sources and support programs for child care providers.
Christina Ferguson of Child Care Aware Kansas discussed a grant program that is providing a third round of COVID relief funds to child care providers. Applications are open now.
Program that are permanently licensed through the Kansas Department of Health and Environment can apply for up to $1,800 per month for child care homes and up to $18,000 per month for large child care centers.
The group also discussed options that could reduce operating costs or supplement providers' incomes. Representatives from the Department of Children and Families suggested providers encourage eligible low-income families to apply for child care subsidies.
"It helps the families and also helps the provider," said Jennifer Pishny of the Department for Children and Families.
Kelly Horn of Sunshine Connections discussed federally funded food assistance programs available to child care providers. Twenty-five percent of the children in a program have to qualify as low-income. The program supplements the cost of both meals and snacks for children.
"Children are getting the right foods they need to develop and are learning healthy eating habits," she said.
For providers who don't qualify for the federal program, she suggested providers organize purchasing groups so they could take advantage of discounts for buying in bulk.
More resources
Kansas Child Care Training Opportunities, Child Care Aware of Kansas, Kansas Association for the Education of Young Children and Child Care Providers Coalition of Kansas all provide a long list of services and resources for both perspective and existing providers.
These groups can help with provider start-up, business plans, ideas on creating contracts and policies, training, as well as peer support.