Additional daycare funding could be on the way
Humboldt County Development Association Executive Director Alissa O'Connor (left) and U.S. Senator from Iowa Joni Ernst (right) look in at youngsters at the Kiddie Cats Child Care and Learning Center earlier this spring. Humboldt Independent file photo.
By KENT THOMPSON
A plan presented by Building Families could raise the wages of local daycare providers and increase community support for the Kiddie Cats Child Care and Learning Center.
That positive news was reported Monday at the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors weekly meeting at the courthouse in Dakota City.
McKinley Bailey, director of Building Families, the children and family support social service agency in Clarion, serves families in Humboldt, Hamilton and Wright counties.
He said providing supplemental wages or bonuses to childcare workers is the cleanest use of federal stimulus funds through the American Rescue Plan.
He offered Humboldt County a possible opportunity to leverage government dollars with private investment in order to sustain increased childcare employee funding after the stimulus funds end.
Bailey said Hamilton County is using ARP funds and combining that with private business and industry support, could provide sustainable growth and a competitive wage scale for childcare workers.
Read more about this opportunity in this week's Humboldt Independent, your trusted source for local news and sports. Subscribe and receive every issue delivered to you by clicking on the link at the top of this page.
