South DSM News

Marion County is facing the challenge of figuring how to make child care affordable and available for families who need it. 

The Marion County Development Commission (MCDC) and First Children's Finance partnered to survey child care providers, employers and parents for a study showing where the challenges were and to develop a strategic plan.

The supply of child care in Iowa has declined over the past five years. Marion County lost 74 child care spaces between 2013 and 2018. MCDC executive director Carla Eysink says this is partly because the business model doesn't generate much profit and the ratio of children to child care workers can be difficult to manage. 

“Right now, the county has low unemployment, but those are not very high paying jobs in most centers,” Eysink told The Pella Chronicle. “So it’s a challenging aspect in the fact that it’s hard to be able to pay their workers and keep their workers. It’s challenging because of regulations, rules and ratios, but those are also what keeps our children safe. So, figuring it all out is really hard to do.”

Some of the obstacles parents run into when looking for child care include lack of openings, affordability and few options for part-time care.

The cost of child care can range from $193.15 per week for an infant, $136.05 for school-age children when there was no school and $59.10 for before and after school care. In order to be eligible for the Iowa Child Care Assistance program, a family of three must have a median income of less than $30,928. The median income for families with children under 18 is $71,988. Many parents still struggle to pay even though they may exceed the income threshold. Some parents are delaying children so that only one is in daycare at a time or even foregoing having children altogether. 

According to the US Census Bureau, more than 75% of children live in homes where every parent works. Employers surveyed said productivity has been affected or work has been missed by some employees because of child care challenges. Of the working parents surveyed, 152 parents said child care matters had affected their job. The MCDC surveyed the county's major employers, asking what was the most prohibitive factor in finding new employees. The first issue was child care and the second issue reported was housing. 

The other challenge to child care availability is the type of child care available. Many parents want their child in a DHS-licensed child care center or a registered child development home. Only 5% of the 35% that currently use an unregulated home selected that type of home as their first choice.

A countywide vision was formed from the study and includes the following goals: Children will have access to programs that offer an enriching learning environment, parents will have a variety of child care options that fit their needs, child care providers will be supported so they can address the needs of families, employers will invest in child care solutions and community leaders will advocate for sustainable child care solutions.