MARQUETTE, MI— The following is a press release from the Community Foundation of Marquette County:
Since the beginning of the year, the Marquette County Childcare Coalition, convened by the Community Foundation of Marquette County, has been engaged in discussions to address the significant need for childcare. The coalition includes representatives from the community, local government, and nonprofit and economic development organizations. The coalition’s work found:
• A lack of childcare openings impedes many parents from returning to work, causing turnover and difficulty in retaining employees.
• Many childcare workers — particularly entry-level workers — do not earn family-sustaining wages and can’t afford to stay in the profession.
• Education providers are experimenting with rapid certifications and skill development, but for childcare providers seeking to build their skills, certification fees for advancement can be a significant barrier.
The Childcare Coalition proposed linking existing resources at Marquette-Alger RESA, and Great Start to Quality with Lake Superior Community Partnership to launch an initiative that engages potential home-based childcare providers to participate in a business startup and growth accelerator program. The cohort-based model has been tested in other regions and serves as a prototype for providing both business education and specialized childcare service supports to ensure that Marquette County is able to meet the current and future demand for affordable quality childcare. The program would be sustained by a cost-sharing model with employers.
Christopher Germain, CEO, Lake Superior Community Partnership, said there were three key factors in looking at licensed home-based childcare providers as one of the feasible solutions to meet the local demand for services. He explained, “Focusing on in-home [providers] allows us to spread the slots across the county, placing them closer to where people live; in-home has a lower start-up cost; and in-home businesses provide an opportunity for families to generate additional income using an existing asset: their home."
At the October 4 Marquette County Board of Commissioners meeting, the Board approved the recommendation to provide $100,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funding to support the Marquette County Childcare Business Lab Pilot. Support for the pilot will leverage funding from a variety of sources, including government, the business community and private philanthropy. The Community Foundation has also established a new fund to support childcare needs in Marquette County.
"The Marquette County Child Care Coalition has made great gains in understanding the childcare needs of the community and creating a pilot that can make an immediate impact then serve as a model to continue to bring about change in the region," commented Marquette-Alger RESA Director of Early Childhood Education Lyndsay Carey. "Having all the different stakeholders at the table ensured many perspectives were addressed, brought
depth to the conversation and intentionality to the work. The new pilot project will expand the great work that is currently being done in the community and bring additional support."
The Community Foundation initiated the Marquette County Childcare Endowment Fund to provide long-term support for quality childcare programs in Marquette County. Zosia Eppensteiner, CEO, explained, “The Community Foundation is taking a proactive step to build sustainable program support for these initiatives through this new endowment fund. In-home childcare providers, day care centers, early childhood education and workforce development are intertwined and form our childcare infrastructure. This fund will allow us to make meaningful investments in charitable programs that help our community address its childcare needs.”
To learn more about the Fund, please contact the Community Foundation at (906) 226-7666 or at info@cfofmc.org.
