by Dalton Black, executive director, and Melissa Bogunovich, community impact manager
In the fall of 2023, the Harvey County Childcare Task Force began working to address childcare challenges in our communities after the closing of one of the community’s largest childcare facilities. At that time, the Task Force met for one purpose, to ensure the building was purchased and remained a childcare facility. Once this goal was accomplished, the Task Force started to discuss other ways in which they could make the most impact in childcare for Harvey County. While there were many ideas, the Task Force faced significant challenges due to lack of any one organization’s ability to spearhead this initiative.
United Way of Harvey and Marion Counties (UWHMC) and the Task Force sought out ways they may hire staff to make progress on their ideas and goals to address childcare concerns in Harvey County. The Kansas Department of Commerce – Office of Rural Prosperity’s Rural Champion program was the opportunity that stood out due to its focus on rural communities and its past support of childcare initiatives. UWHMC applied for the grant opportunity and was awarded the dollars to hire a Rural Champion. Melissa Bogunovich was hired as UWHMC’s Community Impact Manager, and our Rural Champion. Through this program, she will work alongside the Task Force to carry out the goals and initiatives set forth by the group.
The first step to understanding the needs of the community was to understand the perspective of the childcare provider. The Task Force developed and sent surveys to area childcare providers asking basic questions regarding capacity, wages, rates, challenges and more. The most identified challenge involved employee retention, recruitment, and wages. In addition to survey results, data from the statewide United for ALICE (Asset Limited, Income, Constrained, Employed) and our local CHIP (community health improvement plan) to gather insight.
Over half of the respondents cited that their challenges are staffing, food costs, and salaries. It was recognized that we needed to find sustainable ways to increase childcare provider salaries without increasing the cost of care. If the cost of care increased, many families would no longer be able to afford childcare which would cause even more devastating effects. This would cause more families to stay home with children to save money on childcare expenses, which would cause many businesses to lose employees, and would also cause childcare centers to lose potential children and families who could use their services, effectively putting the childcare provider out of a job.
We recognized that we must first stabilize our current providers so we aren’t at risk of losing any of our valuable providers, then work to add new providers to the community so that we can address the current shortages. By working to help bridge the wage gap, we are investing in our existing childcare facilities and providers, we aim to create viability in a career path for childcare professionals that benefits both early childhood educators and families- ensuring providers can earn a sustainable income without increasing the financial burden on families.
The Task Force has begun to make plans on how we will raise the funds to grant to our providers in this way. In the meantime, we recognize that there are other ways we can assist our providers until this “big idea” comes together. In late November, UWHMC received a grant through Child Care Aware to promote Community-Led Coalitions (CCCPG) focusing on Child Care community partnerships by advancing childcare capacity in one’s community. These funds will be used to host an area Childcare Providers Summit. The summit will invite and engage both current childcare providers/early educators as well as those who may be considering opening a childcare facility. The Summit will offer informational speakers, Q&A panels, KDHE-approved Continued EducationUnits (CEUs), giveaways and a free lunch.
The Task Force and UWHMC expect this to be a huge opportunity for all groups to network, learn, ask questions, and get answers, strengthening all corners of their business. By mobilizing this project, our community can create increased childcare openings, retain staffing, and encourage career paths with Harvey County childcare.
This is just the beginning.