Encompass to bring a new child care center to Oconto Falls, addresses child care desert
Next year, Encompass Early Education and Care Inc., which has multiple child care centers across the greater Green Bay area, will open a child care center in Oconto Falls.
The center, which will be located at 650 E. Jackson St., will bring 140 child care slots to the area, Encompass Executive Director Missy Schmeling said in a press release. It will serve infants through school-age children.
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This may bring a sigh of relief to Oconto County families struggling to find regulated care.
The Center for American Progress found in 2018 that 70% of the county’s census tracts were considered child care deserts. CAP defines an area as a child care desert if it contains more than 50 children younger than 5 and it either has no regulated child care options or more than three times as many children in this age range than there are regulated slots.
According to the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families’ Child Care Finder website, only one licensed child care business is currently operating in Oconto Falls: a family child care titled Jamie’s Child Care. Typically, licensed in-home child cares like Jamie’s Child Care can serve a maximum of eight children depending on their ages.
“For every one child care slot in Oconto County, there are (multiple) children waiting for an opening causing parents to either seek care from family members, drive long distances or leave the workforce,” Jayme Sellen, Oconto County Economic Development Corp. executive director, said in a press release. “Encompass coming to Oconto Falls will be a catalyst for generational change for the families, employers and communities in Oconto County.”
Encompass’ tuition assistance program may also give Oconto County families relief from the strain quality child care often puts on budgets. While the federal government defines child care as affordable if it costs families 7% or less of their yearly household income for all their children, the median income family is estimated to devote over 24% of their yearly income on center-based care for an infant, per DCF data.
The building, which previously housed an architecture/engineering office, will need to undergo renovations before it opens as Encompass’ eighth location. Oconto County Public Health’s American Rescue Plan funding will cover $250,000 of this cost, and Encompass has applied for additional grants. It is hoping a fundraising campaign will fund the rest.
Madison Lammert covers child care and early education across Wisconsin as a Report for America corps member based at The Appleton Post-Crescent. To contact her, email mlammert@gannett.com or call 920-993-7108. Please consider supporting journalism that informs our democracy with a tax-deductible gift to Report for America.
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Encompass to bring a new child center to Oconto Falls
