The number of women in the workforce is at an all-time high. Many of these women are mothers who need child care in order to work, which translates into an increased demand for child care providers. Unfortunately, the supply is not keeping up with this demand.
"There are very few vacancies in child care programs in Polk County," said Maureen Hams, program director for Child Care Resources and Referral (CCR&R) Region 1. "Each licensed program has less than one opening."
Ham said Polk County currently has 98 licensed child care programs operating: Four are Head Start centers, five are child care centers and 89 are family child care. Out of a total licensed capacity of 1,446, there are currently only 76 vacancies.
Of these programs, she noted, only one offers care after 6 p.m., two before 6 a.m. and two on Saturdays. The lack of after hours care poses significant problems for parents working irregular shifts.
"Children and families needing evening and weekend care are not using licensed child care," Ham said. "They are using care provided by family members, friends or neighbors."
Infant care
Openings for infant care are practically non-existent because family care providers are limited to the number of babies under the age of 12 months that they can take in. The teacher to infant ratio is much higher than the teacher to toddler ratio, which means the fewer infants a family child care provider takes in, the more children toddler age and older it could serve. This ultimately translates into more income for the provider.
"Infants are next to impossible to finding care for, yet there are more babies being born," said Meranda Jacobsen-Garcia, supportive housing coordinator for the Care & Share Center. "It's a running joke that if you're thinking of having a baby, plan it two years ahead so you can get day care."
Child care providers regularly find themselves turning away calls for infant care.
"I've had to turn away probably 13 or so infants this fall," said Connie Egstad, who's been a licensed family child care provider for 17 years. "I felt so bad when I had to turn down a mother who called the other day. She sounded like she was going to cry. She said I was the last one on her list."
Wendy Osborn, whose two-year-old daughter, Summer, is in Egstad's care, said as soon as she found out she was pregnant, "I called Connie and said, 'Save me a spot.' I wanted to make sure she could do it."
Egstad said when an infant spot is reserved, she holds it until the child is ready to enter her care, which could be several months.
"Basically, there's an unfilled spot sitting open for eight months," she said.
Some parents of infants have had to resort to splitting their children up among providers. Jacobsen-Garcia noted that she went through this herself and sees many others doing the same thing.
"The provider they know and love who watches their children has no openings for infants, so they have to take the baby elsewhere," she said. "Different day cares are hard on the family - the kids want to be together."
"Having different providers adds extra stress on the parents, too, especially on single parents," Carol Gregg, director of the Care & Share, added. "You not only have to be to work by 6 a.m., you have to get to three places by then."
Breaking the cycle
Through its supportive housing program, the Care & Share Center works with low-income families to help them gain independence, including assisting them in finding child care. Jacobsen-Garcia noted that while she sees these child care challenges through the perspective of struggling parents, the lack of quality child care is universal.
"Everyone is feeling the pinch, not just low-income families or single parents," she said. "They're all having a difficult time finding quality care for their children."
Full text available at the Crookston Times