America’s childcare crisis has accelerated since the COVID-19 pandemic. Rising costs and worker shortages make it difficult for childcare providers to stay open. According to federal labor data, childcare employment remains 8.4% below pre-pandemic levels, down nearly 90,000 jobs compared to February 2020. In Iowa alone, 28% of childcare businesses closed from 2016 to 2021. But this lack of supply does not correspond to a lack of demand. Families are desperate for childcare.

The Community Foundations of Southwest Iowa understands that childcare is an essential service in our rural communities, and now is a crucial time to fund these organizations. In the past year and a half, the Foundation granted nearly $275,000 to support childcare. Funded projects included building improvements, educational materials, equipment, and more.

“One of the most valuable attributes of a community foundation is its ability to be responsive to issues that are affecting our local communities,” said Southwest Iowa Foundations Director Sunni Kamp. “Each of our nine foundations has its own local advisory board, and because of this approach to our work, the Community Foundations of Southwest Iowa has both the localized support and philanthropic knowledge to be a funding leader on the most prominent issues across our region.”

We reached out to nonprofit organizations providing childcare throughout our network to hear what challenges they currently face. There are three main areas in which Southwest Iowa childcare providers experience obstacles, including meeting demand, covering operating costs, and recruiting and retaining staff.

Meeting the Demand for Childcare

According to the Center for American Progress, 23% of Iowa residents live in a childcare desert. Childcare availability is even lower among rural populations, with 35% of rural families living in areas without enough licensed childcare providers.  In the nine-county network of the Community Foundations of Southwest Iowa, each of our counties has a census tract that is considered a childcare desert.

To increase available childcare spots, many communities are seeking out opportunities to expand existing facilities or open new childcare centers.

In Mills County, there is a shortfall of over 1,700 childcare slots.  In July 2022, Mills County parents, businesses, education leaders, and nonprofits formed East Mills Child Care Solutions to address the inadequate childcare options in the East Mills Community School District. Since then, the group has elected a board, facilitated a community needs survey, purchased a property to house a new childcare center, and begun fundraising for the Lakin Foundation Child Development Center of East Mills.

In Montgomery County, the Stanton Child Resource Center is the only organization offering childcare services in the Stanton area.  With many families on the center’s waitlist, the organization launched a capital campaign to construct a new facility. The new center will increase its capacity by 49 spaces and is expected to open in the early summer of 2024.

Childcare is crucial for the health of Southwest Iowa, and communities will need to keep exploring avenues for creating more childcare spots in rural towns.

Covering Operating Costs

Childcare centers continue to juggle providing their services at an affordable rate while paying inflated material costs and competitive wages. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics consumer price index, the dollar has had an average inflation rate of over 5.5% per year since 2020, producing a cumulative price increase of over 17%. Most families across Southwest Iowa are not able to afford a 17% increase in childcare prices, which leaves providers with the difficult task of finding funding elsewhere.

Many childcare providers are nonprofit organizations, which means they rely on grant funding and public support to make up the difference in their budgets. Generally, organizations seeking funding have an easier time fundraising for tangible requests such as furniture and fixtures and have difficulty raising money for the essential costs of salaries, training, and other operational costs. If organizations are to continue to provide affordable childcare throughout Southwest Iowa, it is necessary for all funders to support the general operating costs of childcare centers.

Recruiting and Retaining Staff

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2022, the average annual wage of childcare workers in Iowa was $21,240. Lower wages in the childcare industry make it difficult for providers to attract and retain workers.  In Shelby County, Kids in the Village has supplemented their staff by hiring high school and college students to work after school hours and in the summer, but staffing a childcare center can be difficult to do year-round and during peak work hours of 6:00 am – 6:00 pm.

Additionally, training staff is very important, and is a required component of licensing by the Iowa Department of Human Services. But training staff can prove challenging, as it costs organizations both time and money. General support of childcare centers can provide the much-needed funding for increased wages and access to training.

Support Southwest Childcare

Even though these organizations face a myriad of challenges in today’s childcare landscape, they continue to do tremendous work. Childcare centers across Southwest Iowa in the past few years have celebrated the successes of facility expansions and improvements, grant funding for a variety of projects, phenomenal community and parental support, and staff who go above and beyond every day to care for our children.

If you are interested in supporting a Southwest Iowa childcare organization, please review the list of organizations below that have provided us with notes on their current funding needs or consider a general donation to support operating costs.

The Children’s Nest
Audubon, IA

Kids in the Village
Elk Horn, IA

  • Employees: 15
  • Children Served: 56
  • Current Funding Needs: Operational support, staff training, countertops, and cabinet replacements.
  • Website: https://www.kidsitv.com/

Lakin Foundation Child Development Center of East Mills
Malvern, IA

  • Timeline: Projected to open Fall 2024
  • Projected Children Served: 150
  • Current Funding Needs: Capital campaign for $5 million to renovate and furnish existing building in Malvern, IA.
  • Contact: emchildcaresolutions@gmail.com 

Little Hawks Childcare Center
Manilla, IA

Red Oak Child Development Center
Red Oak, IA

  • Employees: 35
  • Children Served: 145
  • Current Funding Needs: Educational technology, furnishings, funds for staff retention efforts.
  • Website: https://www.redoakcdc.org/

Stanton Child Resource Center
Stanton, IA

  • Employees: 21
  • Children Served: 114
  • Current Funding Needs: Capital campaign for construction of new facility – $1 million away from final goal.
  • Website: https://www.scrckids.com/

Turnbull Child Development Center
Shenandoah, IA