Community forum highlights child-care needs

RITZVILLE — Following a tasty meal at the C.J. Newland American Legion Memorial Hall on Tuesday evening, May 21, about 20 community members, mostly parents with young children, attended a presentation by Soren Newman, Ph.D,

The associate director at Arrowleaf Consulting, she presented preliminary results of a child care needs assessment conducted from March to April.

Newman shared data gathered from listening sessions, interviews, and a survey. The goal: building a multi-purpose space for early learning.

She noted that the facility would include child care and preschool classrooms, and would be available for other community events.

Substitute House Bill 1777 created the Early Learning Facility program in 2017. Its stated intent is to help meet “the critical need for high-quality early learning opportunities for children from low-income households through the expansion of early learning classrooms.”

Arrowleaf Consulting and its community partners began collecting data earlier this year in monthly meetings, listening sessions, and interviews.

According to Newman, the assessment was based on existing U.S. census data, information from the state and data collected via six interviews of people representing different sectors of the community — families, parents, healthcare providers, people involved in agriculture, employers and schools.

After the initial interviews, 10 more people were engaged in four listening sessions. “We wanted to get a diversity of perspectives,” Newman said.

Based on the results of interviews and listening sessions, a survey was created to solicit broader community input.

“No one is going to be shocked by the results,” she said. “It validates what most people already understand about the needs of these communities.”

Of the 123 survey respondents, 94% had at least one child under the age of 12.

About a third had been in these communities five years or less.

Newman noted that people typically rely on family members and friends for childcare.

“But people who are new to the community don’t have that social network,” she said. As a result, finding child care is often more difficult for newcomers.

Consultants estimated there were 550 children with unmet needs within the Lind-Ritzville Cooperative Schools service area. Out of children aged birth to 12, only about 5% in both Ritzville and Lind said their child care needs have been met. About 70-80% of respondents said that getting child care was “somewhat” or “very” difficult.

About a quarter of respondents were single parent households.

The survey found that lack of child care impacted the workforce by limiting work hours and stifling job performance. One interviewee said, “If you’re not working full time and your kids are going to daycare…you’re probably spending most your paycheck on daycare. So, you’re basically just working for the benefits.”

Another added, “With people working at the hospital and even the farming community, they work seven days. They don’t just work Monday through Friday.”

Several interviewees and listening session participants said some residents may be interested in opening a child care business, but the complexity of the licensing process and financial requirements discouraged them.

Newman concluded the presentation with solutions and recommendations.

One solution involved a parent cooperative preschool organized by a group of families who hire a trained teacher to lead the program. In that scenario, parents and/or guardians would volunteer to help in the classroom on a rotating basis. They would also provide administrative support.

Another suggested option was the creation of a directory of babysitters for each community. These babysitters would be trained and certified in certain skills: administering basic first aid, dealing with emergencies, choosing age-appropriate activities, and handling certain behaviors.

Interviewees and listening session participants also suggested providing technical help for those interested in becoming providers. They might also partner with local schools and churches, or develop a formal parks and recreation model incorporating early learning and child care programs.

Other recommendations involved training teens and others to become certified babysitters, integrating child care facilities into housing development, and expanding awareness of and access to subsidies.

Arrowleaf Consulting expects to issue a final report by the end of June.