Child care task force forms here

For many Jackson County parents, finding affordable and reliable daycare options for their younger children is no easy task — a matter that’s prompted a group of county residents to form the Jackson County Early Childhood Development Task Force.

The volunteer group that formed in late February, now at 20 members and growing, has recognized that the need for more available options for daycare is great, noting that little more than half the need for viable daycare options in the county is currently being met.

One of those volunteers, Connie Ramirez, is a longtime Jackson County daycare provider who recently told the Holton City Commission that there are about 300 children in Jackson County who are currently not in a child care program and will potentially need to be.

Finding available spots for those children, Ramirez said, is tough, and the reasons why are numerous, including more stringent regulations for daycare centers and homes, lower pay, aging caregivers and the COVID-19 pandemic that saw several providers shutting down and not coming back.

“I do believe that the problem’s getting worse,” Ramirez told city commissioners at their July 17 meeting. “We’re just trying to raise awareness of the need we have for childcare in our county. It’s statewide as well, but we’re interested in how the city can help us.”

According to data provided by the daycare research group Child Care Aware of America and shared by Ramirez at the city commission meeting, Jackson County currently has 994 children under the age of six, and 659 of them have working parents. Of that number, 359 are currently placed in daycare facilities, leaving 300 children potentially needing care.

Ramirez also noted that the county has 32 “family child care homes” operating in the county, although about half of the people providing that care are 50 years old or older, and some may be looking to retire.

“There’s people who are younger than that that I’ve talked to who have said they’re not going to stay in this for more than a couple more years,” she said.

And while the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, which handles licensing for daycare centers, may be looking to modify regulations to increase the number of children that daycare providers may handle, help from the state’s Department for Children and Families (DCF) has been rejected by many providers due to an increase in necessary paperwork.

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