Community groups gather to tackle child care availability issues

A group of education leaders came together Thursday, Jan. 9, to brainstorm ways to improve child care access in Cape Girardeau County.

The meeting was spearheaded by IFF, a community development financial institution (CDFI), and was held in the Cape Girardeau Public Library.

Led by Stephen Westbrooks, the executive director of IFF’s southern region, attendees represented Community Partnership of Southeast Missouri (CPSEMO), United Way of Southeast Missouri, Ozark Federal Credit Union, Community Foundation of the Ozarks, Cape Girardeau Public Schools and Missouri Foundation for Health.

Founded in 1988 as the Illinois Facilities Fund, IFF was later renamed to better represent the entire Midwest. The CDFI has 10 offices across six states, including two in Missouri.

“So a lot of organizations that are doing really important work throughout the State of Missouri and throughout the Midwest don’t always have an easy time accessing traditional bank capital … and one area where we’ve just gone deeply throughout the Midwest is on early childhood education,” Westbrooks said.

A July 2024 overview compiled by IFF reported that there are approximately 3,800 children ages 5 or younger who were estimated to need child care in Cape Girardeau County. These are nearly equally divided between children 2 or younger and those ages 3 to 5.

IFF collaborated with child advocacy group Kids Win Missouri to produce the report.

While the county has about 98% of the needed child care slots for children in the older age group, it only has 45% of the necessary slots for the younger children. This means there are some 1,000 infants and toddlers in need of child care services who are not receiving any.

The majority of parents surveyed in conjunction with the report said they had their children placed on waitlists before they could join a day care. Many switched jobs, changed schedules or reduced their hours to accommodate child care.

A key problem the report identified was staff and educators being underpaid and under-supported. Most county child care providers, according to the report, said they cannot afford to offer competitive wages to compete with other career fields.

There are around 30 group home, home-based or center-based providers in the county.

“I think the No. 1 thing my providers tell me every day, and tell our staff, is that they can’t keep staff,” CPSEMO program director Amy Loomis-McDonald said.

The cost to operate a child care facility is high not only because of staffing, but because of facility requirements and limited resources to supply necessary items, the report continued. It can be a mentally taxing job, and Loomis-McDonald said some providers she talked to have considered leaving the profession.

Attendees also discussed how finding work that aligns with a day care schedule can be difficult. Community Foundation of the Ozarks director of affiliate engagement Judy Cantoni said she has known assistance payments going to families far longer than they should because getting a job and finding child care services would be unaffordable.

“It is not that they are having a lavish lifestyle, but is actually cheaper for them to stay at home and not engage their children in whatever programs there are and all of those things because that is less costly than for them to actually have a job,” Cantoni said.

Even parents who do work, she added, can be put on day care waitlists for months.

For ways to make child care more affordable, meeting participants suggested subsidies for parents and providers. Tax credits were another option proposed. Legislative help was generally considered the best way of helping the most people.

Organizers and participants alike agreed it was helpful that Cape Girardeau County had different community organizations looking to address the issue.