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There are too many deserts in the 7 Rivers Region. Not the arid, lack of rainfall desert that commonly comes to mind, but something called a child care desert. And we need to change that climate.
A child care desert is defined as any census tract with more than 50 children under age 5 that contains either no child care providers or so few options that there are more than three times as many children as licensed child care slots. The Center for American Progress has created a website -- www.childcaredeserts.org -- that maps child care access across the entire country.
Statewide in Wisconsin, 54 percent of all residents live in a child care desert. In Minnesota, 26 percent live in a child care desert and in Iowa it’s 23 percent. It’s even more of a challenge in rural areas of Wisconsin, where 68 percent of families live in areas without enough licensed child care providers. There are parts of the 7 Rivers Region -- like Jackson County -- where there are 68 children per licensed child care slot. Then there are parts of the region where there are no child care providers.
The shortage of child care was identified as one of the major factors keeping parents out of the workforce or working part-time, as identified in our Workforce Innovation for a Strong Economy (WISE) plan.
The 7 Rivers Alliance is partnering with the La Crosse Area Development Corp., The Parenting Place and other regional organizations for a strategic summit on child care to be held Tuesday, April 23 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the La Crosse AmericInn, 1835 Rose St., La Crosse.
The factors and the reasons for our region’s lack of child care are many and complex. Otherwise it wouldn’t be a challenge, would it? The number of licensed providers continues to decline, providers are having a hard time filling positions (remember, they are businesses too) and affordability concerns for parents are very real.
Recently our region has had more than its share of challenging weather events -- from bone chilling cold to ice and snow. At no time is the region’s child care crisis more apparent than when school closes early or is closed for the day. The mad scramble of parents having to juggle schedules, leave work early or not being able to come to work causes a very tangle economic impact.
Multifaceted challenges have no single solutions. Our summit will include round table discussions on the various challenges. There are several area groups who have been working to help find possible solutions to the child care crisis. We will bring in some of these groups at the summit to share their findings. There are also different business models -- including cooperative child care centers and business-sponsored initiatives. We will also present the latest results of a La Crosse County child care survey, share other area surveys.
Former Minnesota Congressman Tim Penny, the president and CEO of the Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation, is scheduled to discuss some collaborative approaches to solving the childcare crisis.
We won’t solve the child care crisis with a single summit. But we hope that you will join us to learn about different ideas and be a part of the discussion to come up with potential solutions.
Tickets are $25 for 7 Rivers Alliance members and $30 for non members. Purchase tickets here! https://www.eventbrite.com/e/childcare-summit-tickets-57020942173
Chris Hardie, CEO
chris@7riversalliance.org
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