By Christine Graf<\/p>\n
Residents of Warren and Saratoga County may be eligible to receive funding to help defray the costs of opening registered home-based childcare businesses. Funds have been made available through a $205,000 federal grant that was obtained by a bi-county task force comprised of representatives from Warren County Workforce Development, Saratoga County Workforce Development, the Southern Adirondack Child Care Network, and Brightside Up.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The grant focuses on in-home providers because home-based childcare businesses tend to be more successful in rural areas. Start-up costs for these businesses are also significantly lower than for child care centers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cOur goal is to open 10 home-based childcare centers in Warren County and 10 in Saratoga County,\u201d said Warren County Director of Workforce Development Liza Ochsendorf. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n According to Ochsendorf, many Capital Region communities are so desperately in need of licensed child care providers that they are considered child care deserts.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cGlens Falls is one of the biggest deserts we have, but there are child care deserts all over the two counties and throughout the nation.\u201d<\/p>\n The Center for American Progress defines a child care desert as \u201cany census tract with more than 50 children under the age of 5 that contains either no child care providers or so few options that there are more than three times as many children as licensed child care slots.\u201d An estimated 51 percent of Americans live in child care deserts.<\/p>\n The child care industry was especially hard hit by the COVID pandemic, and approximately 1 in 5 centers went out of business as a result of the pandemic. Others were kept afloat only because the CARES economic stimulus package provided them with emergency funds.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The Century Foundation think tank estimates that over 70,000 daycare providers throughout the country will be in danger of closing when stimulus money dries up at the end of September. If this happens, it could leave more than 3 million children without child care.<\/p>\n <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong>New York and Texas are the states that will be the hardest hit, and in New York, an estimated 6,000 daycares are at risk of closing. More than 250,000 children will be left without care which means that one of their parents will be forced to leave the workforce. The resulting economic impact would be significant to the state.<\/p>\n \u201cBetween 2019 and the beginning of 2022, we lost 40 percent of the slots in regulated child care in Warren, Washington, and Hamilton counties,\u201d said Lynn Sickles, executive director of the Southern Adirondack Childcare Network. \u201cThe hope of this funding is that it will provide incentive for those who are interested in working with children and love children to open home-based childcare businesses. We will provide them with start-up assistance\u2014not just with funding to help them open, but support from our staff during the licensing process. We can also help them with the paperwork.\u201d<\/p>\n Those who sign up for the program will work with a child care specialist who will assist them with the entire process. Through the workforce development offices, program participants will have access to free business development trainings that are designed to help them run a successful business.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Funds from the grant will be used to pay for state mandated trainings as well as laptops, toys, books, and recess equipment. All purchases will be made through the workforce development offices, and participants will receive training, ongoing support, and mentorship through the Southern Adirondack Child Care Network and Brightside Up.<\/p>\n \u201cThis funding may appeal to stay-at-home parents, educators, or anyone looking for a career change who has a passion for helping children. The grant also provides opportunities for informal child care providers to upgrade their services to become licensed businesses,\u201d said Ochsendorf. \u201cThis isn\u2019t just about babysitting. It\u2019s early childhood education, and they will be learning skills that will allow them to be early childhood educators.\u201d<\/p>\n The four participating agencies are actively recruiting applicants for funding. Several individuals have already applied and are in the process of completing necessary paperwork.<\/p>\n \u201cTrainings are constant and we accept enrollments throughout the year,\u201d said Ochsendorf.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Recruitment is challenging due to the nature of the childcare industry where workers have been historically undervalued and underpaid.<\/p>\n \u201cThey work hard, they work long hours, and they are underpaid,\u201d said Sickles. \u201cThey are very underrecognized as the professionals that they are. Childcare providers are boots on the ground. They are essential to workforce development and economic development, and they are just not being recognized.\u201d<\/p>\n Warren County residents who are interested in applying for funding can call Warren County Career Center at 518-743-0925 or Southern Adirondack Child Care Network at 518-798-7972. Saratoga County residents who would like to apply can call Saratoga County Career Center at 518-884-4170 or Brightside Up at 518-426-7181.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Christine Graf Residents of Warren and Saratoga County may be eligible to receive funding to help defray the costs of opening registered home-based childcare businesses. Funds have been made available through a $205,000 federal grant that was obtained by a bi-county task force comprised of representatives from Warren County Workforce Development, Saratoga County Workforce […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":89,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\r\n