Adams County CARES initiative to address local child care worker shortage with comprehensive approach

QUINCY — A new program to address the local child care shortage was announced Monday afternoon by the Community Foundation Serving West Central Illinois & Northeast Missouri and its partners. 

Adams County Child Care Advancement and Recruitment Effort (CAREs) will offer scholarships, paid internships and sign-on bonuses to “encourage and incentivize individuals to enter and remain in the child care field,” according to the program’s newly launched website. 

The initiative was created by the Community Foundation in collaboration with various “philanthropic, economic development, education and child care partners,” including:

• Adams County, Illinois;
• Blessing Health System;
• The Moorman Foundation;
• John Wood Community College (JWCC);
• The Tracy Family Foundation;
• West Central Child Care Connection (WCCCC);
• The Tri-State Development Summit; and
• The Great River Economic Development Foundation (GREDF).

WCCCC Executive Director Marla Willard emphasized the community’s need for such an initiative, saying the current supply of licensed child care programs in the area is unable to fulfill even half of its demand. 

“For the estimated 3,630 children who need care in Adams County, there are only 1,738 spaces in licensed programs,” Willard said. “This child care shortage has forced parents to maybe delay going back to work after the birth of a child. It has kept some parents from entering the workforce altogether.”

Willard said a lack of qualified teachers and a shrinking pool of individuals pursuing careers in early childhood makes staffing difficult to maintain. Degree and credential requirements can be a costly investment of time and money that, for some, is simply too difficult to attain.

“We have a wonderful, dedicated, professional and caring child care workforce already in Adams County,” said Catherine Meckes, chief executive officer of the Community Foundation. “But the figures show we need more.”

Meckes said the program will utilize a “three-pronged approach” to eliminate barriers and “create a pipeline” for people who are interested in or are already in pursuit of careers in early childhood that will hopefully “expand the quality and quantity of care available” in the area.

Paid internships at Blessing Health’s Lauretta M. Eno Early Learning Center will be offered to students enrolled in early childhood programs at area vocational and technical schools and will be eligible for dual-credit through JWCC.

Last-dollar scholarships will be awarded to early childhood education students at JWCC to eliminate cost-related barriers associated with obtaining any necessary degree and credential requirements.

“By investing in these future educators, we are strengthening the foundation of our community — ensuring that young children receive the quality care and education they deserve while removing financial barriers for those passionate about making a difference,” April Darringer, early childhood coordinator and assistant professor at JWCC, said in a news release.

The final “prong” involves $3,000 sign-on bonuses that will be distributed to new child care workers who have acquired their teaching certification or are in the process of acquiring it. Bonuses will be dispersed during a two-year period at the time of hiring, six months, one year and two years. People must remain at the center they were hired at or open their own in-home family child care center to qualify for the full bonus amount.

“By implementing these strategies, Adams County CAREs takes a proactive role in addressing child care shortages and ensuring that families have access to quality early learning opportunities,” Meckes said.

The pilot program is built upon $500,000 in investments, half of which came from local businesses and philanthropic organizations. The other $250,000 was contributed by the Adams County Board, which chairman Bret Austin said voted unanimously in support of.

“To date, we have allocated all $12.7 million (in American Rescue Plan Act funds awarded to the county). This is one of the last projects that we officially voted on, and I’m glad that we reserved some time and some money for programs that paid back,” Austin said.

The Learning Policy Institute says long-term studies that followed students from fully-staffed and high quality early childhood programs into adulthood found that each dollar invested into early childhood education garnered an estimated $17 social benefit return due to the positive impacts on students’ long-term educational outcomes and earning potential, as well as its association with decreased rates of high school dropouts, incarceration and unemployment.

“The benefits to addressing the challenges and barriers of the child care workforce shortage can far outweigh the cost because there are social implications for communities who have an adequate and well-trained child care workforce,” Willard said.

Kyle Moore, the newly inaugurated Illinois State Representative for the 99th District and president of GREDF, said issues such as a shortage in child care aren’t typically associated with the organization. Its impacts on the local economy, though, put it in GREDF’s wheelhouse.

“What happened — really (over) the last four years as we started working on talent, attraction and retention — is we started hearing (in) real time from people who were having to make the difficult decision to stay home to take care of their child or to pursue a career,” Moore said.

Moore said if parents didn’t have to struggle with finding child care, many of the roughly 700 jobs available in the county at any given time would have a greater potential for getting filled.

“The child care workforce does much more than just watch children grow and keep them safe … Child care, at its best, inherently creates a sense of community among enrolled families, and it impacts the overall sense of wellbeing for families in those programs,” Willard said. “That is what this partnership really wants for all the families of Adams County.”

Scholarships already are being awarded. Anyone who has entered the child care workforce since Feb. 1 is eligible to apply for the sign-on bonuses on the program’s website, Meckes said.

“When we really invest in our children, we’re investing in the future and the future is bright because of partnerships like this,” Meckes said. “We’re excited to make a difference.”

More information about Adams County CAREs can be found on its website at AdamsCountyCAREs.com.