Dec. 21—CLINTON — Grow Clinton on Tuesday presented the results of surveys conducted to gain a greater understanding of local childcare challenges.
First Children's Finance Senior Business Development Specialist Angie Duncan was joined by a group of both local and state government representatives and business leaders to deliver a summary of the report's conclusions, with focus on a market area encompassing the cities of Clinton, Camanche and Andover.
The first finding given was that the median household income of the market area surveyed exceeds the childcare assistance eligibility threshold.
The median annual income for families with children under the age of 18 within the market area ranges from $60,564 to $96,502, depending on the zip code. According to 2023 income guidelines, to qualify for the Iowa Child Care Assistance program, a family of three must have an annual household income that falls below $39,776. The annual household income for a family of four must be less than $48,000 to qualify.
It was also found that a significant difference of up to $75 per week exists between the average weekly tuition of licensed childcare centers and that of registered homes.
Sixty-two percent of surveyed parents, though, would prefer childcare provided through a licensed center that's available year round from the daily hours of 7 a.m. to 5:59 p.m.
The survey analysis states that there is shortage of available spaces for certain age groups of children in regulated childcare settings, yet a surplus of spaces exists for children of preschool ages.
Over the last year, 53% of parents had to leave work early, 35% missed a day of work because their childcare provider was closed or unavailable, and 33% had to handle trying to juggle supervising a child while working from home.
Additionally, 37% of local surveyed employers are finding it difficult to hire new employees due to limited childcare options, but childcare centers are are also having difficulty finding staff.
While options for childcare have been found to be lacking statewide, Clinton County has for several years been deemed a "childcare desert."
"I firmly believe," Grow Clinton president and CEO Andy Sokolovich said, "that childcare is economic development."
Prior to the 2002 merger of the Clinton Area Chamber of Commerce and the Clinton Regional Development Corporation that was the formation of the Grow Clinton organization, Sokolovich said, the CRDC was working on coming to childcare solutions.
The 82-page Child Care Market Analysis report delivered earlier this week by national nonprofit organization First Children's Finance, therefore, is intended to be used to continue working toward accomplishing coming to solutions.