Fox Valley partnership seeks to remove barriers to help produce more child care workers
Less than a year ago, working mothers Virginia Maus and Tiffany Simon opened Joyful Beginnings Academy, a child care center, to help combat rural Outagamie County’s child care shortage. Now, with the help of community partnerships, they are tackling a new dimension of the problem: the industry’s slim workforce.
Joyful Beginnings Academy, Child Care Resource and Referral Fox Valley, Fox West Chamber of Commerce, and the Hortonville Area School District are teaming up to bring free training needed to work in child care to upwards of 20 locals.
The program includes the Introduction to the Child Care Profession course, the first foundational class many new child care professionals are required to complete to work in a regulated setting, as well as CPR and AED training. Participants will meet Tuesday and Thursday evenings from Jan. 16 to Feb. 8 at Hortonville High School. The dates may change depending on the needs of the participants.
Registration for the program closes Dec. 15. To register online, visit bit.ly/CCclassregister. For more information, send email to Dana Bain at danab@ccrrfoxvalley.org.
Depending on the situation, additional classes may arranged with the help of the child care where one becomes employed.
Efforts intend to remove hurdles to becoming qualified to work in child care industry
Simon said Joyful Beginnings is short staffed, and therefore limited in the number of children it can serve. The majority of Wisconsin child care centers are in similar positions, and families are finding it difficult to secure quality care so the parents can continue working.
“There’s a lack of teachers in the field, in general,” Simon said. “One of our thoughts was ‘maybe it’s because it’s hard to take those initial classes.’”
That first foundational course typically takes multiple weeks to complete and can cost over $100. Knowing that the cost could prohibit some from taking the course, and that the time commitment can be hard especially for those with children of their own, Maus and Simon wanted to provide the course for free, along with on-site child care for participants.
“Tiffany and I thought, ‘Let’s try to remove every single barrier to someone entering this field,’” Maus said. “By offering it on-site (for free) with somebody to watch their children, we’re hoping that it will bring in those interested.”
But they couldn’t do it alone. The Fox West Chamber dedicated $2,000 of its Workforce Development Initiative funds to the project, aiming to develop and retain talent in its service area. This will cover the cost of the first foundational course and CPR/AED training for up to 20 participants and their child care during the class, said the chamber’s executive director, Scott Sawinski.
Professionals from the Hortonville School District will spearhead in-person portions of the CPR/AED training, and reserved space at the high school for the program. CCR&R Fox Valley will facilitate the foundational course.
To mark the program's cumulation, participants will engage in a job fair with regulated child care centers in the chamber's service area of Grand Chute, Greenville, Hortonville and Fox Crossing.
More: Families with children will benefit from Outagamie County grants to resource centers
Child care worker shortage has far-reaching consequences
A fall 2022 survey from the National Association for the Education of Young Children found that over 63% of child care programs reported a staffing shortage.
Because of required staff-to-child ratios, short staffing often forces Wisconsin child care centers to serve fewer children. If Joyful Beginnings had four more full-time teachers, it could serve 40 more children, Simon said.
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The shrinking child care workforce is a key facet of the state's child care shortage — which has ramifications for Wisconsin families.
"The need for child care in our community is so great, but the severe shortage of child care teachers is really a huge barrier for parents who are looking for work," said Bain, CCR&R Fox Valley's development director, who will help facilitate the child care course at Hortonville High School. "We hear from parents every day that they're going to lose their jobs (because they don't have child care)."
Sawinski said the lack of child care options in the Fox West Chamber's service area results in multiple industries losing qualified workers.
"Every employer is feeling those effects, and parents are having to make difficult decisions because of the lack of child care options," said Hortonville Area School District administrator Todd Timm. "We're no different from every other employer out there in the marketplace."
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While multiple factors play into the child care workforce shortage, including low industrywide wages, those hosting the free introductory course in Hortonville are optimistic the project will make a difference in their community.
"This is not a fix-all, but hopefully we can gain traction over time," Sawinski said, adding that they hope the program will inspire similar collaborations in other communities.
He said the chamber will sponsor additional classes in the future based on demand.
Parents and caregivers struggling to find child care for their children and those looking for more ways to complete child care foundational courses should contact their local CCR&R.
Madison Lammert is a Report for America corps member who covers child care and early education in Wisconsin at The Post-Crescent. Contact her at mlammert@gannett.com or 920-993-7108. Follow on Twitter @MadisonLammert0.
You can directly support her work with a tax-deductible donation online at http://bit.ly/Appleton_RFA or by check made out to The GroundTruth Project with subject line Report for America Post Crescent Campaign. Address: The GroundTruth Project, Lockbox Services, 9450 SW Gemini Dr, PMB 46837, Beaverton, Oregon 97008-7105.
This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Fox Valley partnership offers free child care training for new workers
