LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Some call the child care center situation in Kentucky a crisis.
The policy and research director with Kentucky Youth Advocates, Sarah Vanover, said 79 out of 120 counties are considered child care deserts.
Vanover said an area is not considered a desert if there is at least one spot for every three kids.
"The desert has four families fighting over one spot," Vanover said.
COVID-era federal funds helped keep hundreds of centers afloat, and even helped some raise wages for workers.
Deve Collins-Frias operates Our Angels Child Care Centers in west and south Louisville. She said hiring and retaining good employees continues to be a challenge.
The new bus routes put in place by JCPS before the start of the year affected enrollment at her center in Pleasure Ridge Park.
"We lost about 15 kids due to transportation because they couldn't get their buses here anymore," Collins-Frias said. "They (JCPS) deleted the routes."
As the federal funds start to run out, Vanover said the state needs to boost child care centers. Otherwise, dozens of owners may face having to either raise rates on families, cut staff, or shut down.
Vanover supports the Horizons Act, which State Sen. Danny Carroll (R-Benton) is pushing in Frankfort. It proposes spending $150 million each of the next two years on child care initiatives.
Vanover said the money would help sustain the pay increases earned by workers, keep centers open, and help avoid a potential crisis.
She argues this is an economic investment that would keep dads and moms at work.
"If you want caregivers, parents, in the workforce, you have to give them child care," Vanover said.
One of those working mothers is Jasmine Ferguson, who takes her son to Our Angels in the Shawnee neighborhood.
"He has learned his shapes and his numbers. His colors," Ferguson said.
Even though she lives in St. Matthews and works near downtown, the only center she could find that took child care assistance was in west Louisville. She doesn't have a car, so she relies on TARC.
"Literally like an hour to get out there on the bus," Ferguson said.
Her son enjoys his classes and she said he is learning, so it's worth the commute. The hope is that the Horizons Act will add enough state funding to create even more options in the city and keep the current centers open.
The bill also includes a plan to offer an associate degree in early childhood education entrepreneurship, which would help prepare more operators.
The Republican-dominated State Senate is still going through the state budget proposal, and expects to submit their bill by next month.
Related Stories:
- Morgan McGarvey returns to Louisville to listen to local concerns of child care funding, accessibility
- Kentucky lawmakers considering state budget take close look at child care center funding
Copyright 2024 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved.
