County facing child care ‘crisis’

By DOUGLAS BURNS
d.burns@carrollspaper.com

Greene County’s top economic-development official calls the lack of child care in the region a “crisis.”

“We have a serious problem,” said Ken Paxton, executive director of the Greene County Development Corp.

With the opening of a new casino last summer, perhaps the most high profile in a string of business and job expansions, Greene County posted an unemployment rate of 3 percent in December.

Bottom line: the county is fighting to expand its labor pool to feed growth, Paxton said.

Iowa’s unemployment rate for December was 3.4 percent, and the national rate 5 percent.

Locally, the unemployment rate is viewed as a mixed bag by businesspeople. It reflects a strong economy, but also makes attracting new businesses and recruiting employees challenging.

A key factor in that drive to lure labor is child care.

The nonprofit Greene County Early Learning Center serves 103 kids, but it has a waiting list of 37, said Cherie Cerveny, executive director.

Operating out of a former school building (204 S. Madison St.) south of the middle school in Jefferson, the center’s board is working with a consultant, First Children’s Finance of Minneapolis, on possible expansion or relocation into a larger facility that can accommodate more children — and speed the flow of employees to jobs in Jefferson.

A feasibility study is expected within months.

Paxton and Cerveny say a capacity of 200 children is a reasonable target.

Paxton said child-care availability is essential to existing and prospective business.

“A 37-person waiting list is an automatic ‘no,’ ” Paxton said, reflecting on reaction of new business prospects to reports of those numbers.

Cerveny says 75 to 80 percent of the center’s annual operating budget of about $325,000 comes through tuition for children, who range in age from two weeks to 12 years. The rest of the money comes through fundraising or grants.

The center’s 24 employees start at $8 an hour and most make less than $9 an hour. Cerveny, executive director since 2008, makes $33,000 a year.

“They have a hard time attracting people,” Paxton said.