What is a Child Care Solutions fund?

Families in Howard County along with other counties throughout the state and nation are faced with the lack of childcare options. The Howard County Child Care Coalition is working to address this by creating the Howard County Coalition Fund. It has designed as a wage enhancement program to address the challenge of child care staffing without increasing tuition or passing along additional costs to families. This program, funded by local investments from employers, businesses, organizations, and individuals from across the region, supports child care providers in enhancing their pay by giving quarterly bonuses. This model not only improves the sustainability of our childcare centers but also increases the number of children served which is vitally important for our workforce. 

History

In the fall of 2023, Howard County was fortunate to be chosen by the State of Iowa as one of nine communities to be part of a locally-funded childcare wage enhancement pilot project. Individuals and businesses in and adjacent to Howard County were asked for donations to our county’s wage enhancement fund within a short turnaround time. The State then matched these funds and the Howard County Wage Enhancement Fund was launched. The intent behind this fund was to supplement the operational needs of childcare centers to assist with recruiting and retaining quality, consistent staffing in our childcare centers through increased wages without increasing childcare rates for working families. Our community responded generously with contributions totaling $133,075.

These funds have been extremely important to the recruitment and retention of childcare staff within Howard County this past year. Kessel Kids in Cresco, Spring Ahead Learning Center in Lime Springs, and the Elma Early Childhood Center have benefited from the funds. As of the end of October 2024, $223,645 has been distributed to three childcare centers in Howard County. The centers have been able to remove 20 children from their waitlists, add 21 new employees, and retain 59 employees. This fund is working! 

Current Goals

The Howard County Child Care Coalition’s goal is to raise $100,000 annually as ongoing support with 100% of these contributions being invested back into our communities’ childcare centers. Childcare is the foundation for working families. Without the sustainability of this fund or other childcare solutions, we will not be able to sustain our childcare organizations without a significant increase in childcare tuition rates, potentially adding to our workforce challenges. 

Please consider donating to

this community-based project.