Effingham, IL-(Effingham Radio)-The recently completed survey by University of Illinois Department of Special Education of Effingham County residents and their child care needs revealed that lack of a variety of licensed child care options have continued to force families to place their children in less than ideal care settings.
Jiye Kim, Research Assistant for Illinois Early Childhood Education Asset Map (IECAM) and University of Illinois Doctoral Candidate who created and administered the survey in partnership with Dr. Catherine Corr noted, “It really shows how deficient childcare services are.”
94% of those who completed the survey confirmed that they work 30 or more hours a week and 75% of those noted that they used child care for at least five days a week.
60% of those completing the survey confirmed that they preferred their children be cared for in a licensed child care center or in a licensed child care home.
Unfortunately, approximately 1/3 of those who responded had children placed in situations that were inadequate for their family.
One respondent shared her struggle: “To be honest we have literally had to jump around from people to people because it’s impossible to find somewhere for our kids to go. We were using a lady who was in her late 70’s and then filling in when she needed off. Now that our kids are in kindergarten and up, we struggle to find care for them on the days they are off school.”
The quality of child care has long term repercussions on both the future and current workforce.
Courtney Hatcher Recruitment & Quality Specialist with Project CHILD explained how pieced together care affects the future workforce: “Young children need consistency for their optimal development. Consistency helps build the neurological pathways in their brains. Without this consistency, children’s brains fail to make the connections that will prove necessary for their development of self-regulation, executive function skills and much more.”
Pieced together care like that described above also negatively affects the current workforce.
Dr. Catherine Corr, Associate Professor Department of Special Education at the University of Illinois confirmed: “Today, we know families need high quality reliable child care options. We also know in order to sustain our child care workforce and offer these services, we need to provide adequate pay, supervision and support. We can’t have high quality child care options for families without a plan to sustain our child care workforce.”
“Pieced together care is not the fault of working parents – they are doing the best that they can. However, surveys like this one, and the real struggles that families share, confirm that there’s a continued need for public/ private resources to be leveraged to address community needs.” Courtney Yockey, Chairman of Effingham County’s Childcare Research Committee explained.
In 2022, the Effingham County Board formed the Effingham County Childcare Research Committee and earmarked $400,000 toward improving and expanding licensed child care opportunities in Effingham County.
Chairman Yockey explained: “Effingham County Board should be commended for their attention to the workforce hurdles that lack of child care creates in Effingham County.”
He went on to say: “The Childcare Research Committee was charged with investigating the underlying child care issues in Effingham County. After extensive study, the committee recommended three responses to address the challenge – the stabilization, increased capacity and scholarship programs.”
$100,000 is allocated as a one-time injection to assist in stabilizing and retaining the current childcare workforce. Through this program, licensed Effingham County child care providers could apply for a stipend based on the time worked.
$35,535 has been allocated in 50% matching, reimbursable grants to assist licensed childcare programs or childcare providers who grow and increase the capacity of their childcare businesses in Effingham County while $100,000 was contributed toward the childcare center planned for the Wright Family Center in Dieterich.
When completed, this will establish 50 new licensed child care slots in an area that is a desert for licensed child care services.
Brittny Gipson, Dieterich Village Clerk explained: “This additional funding is vital to the success of our project. For more than 15 years, this daycare has been a dream that has been discussed and planned for and now to see it become a reality is beyond exciting. It’s hard to put into words the long-term positive impacts this facility will have on our children and area families. It will be a wonderful addition to what Dieterich already has to offer.”
$150,000 is allocated to a Child Care Scholarship Fund.
This fund would support families who don’t qualify for Illinois’ Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) and are financially strained to remain in the workforce.
Comments