Sep. 4—Finding child care in the Flathead Valley can be stressful for parents as a lack of spaces brings long wait lists. At the same time, business leaders face their own challenges as employees miss work because of gaps in the system and are often unable to recruit untapped workers who can't secure child care.
Helping to potentially assist with a solution, two Kalispell businesses have been awarded American Rescue Plan grants that will allow for the expansion of one child care facility and the addition of a new center.
The Birds Nest received $1 million which will allow it to construct a new facility expanding to more than double its current capacity. While Immanuel Lutheran Communities received almost nearly $900,000 allowing it to create a new facility.
"This is something that we really need in the valley — more quality child care," says Birds Nest owner and founder Corrine Kuntz, who began the early learning center in 2014 after finding a shortage of child care when seeking care for her two children.
The Kalispell Chamber of Commerce this winter launched a new initiative to take on the challenge of finding ways to improve child care in the area — looking for ways to create additional spaces for children and finding ways to ensure sufficient wages for quality employees working in child care. According to the Montana Department of Health and Human Services, there are 1,665 licensed child care slots in Flathead County, which account for only 28% of children up to age 5.
"The lack of workforce continues to be our member's No. 1 priority and child care plays a big part in this crisis. If our initiative has played the smallest part in bringing stakeholders together and driving solutions, we are thrilled," said Lorraine Clarno, President/CEO of the Kalispell chamber. "We have much more work to do but want to thank and celebrate both The Birds Nest and Immanuel Lutheran Communities for their leadership in bringing more access, quality and affordable child care to our community."
The chamber in 2011 embarked on looking at the child-care situation with a four-month study resulting in the plan released this year. Action teams have been working on solutions and the chamber says 500 child-care openings have been identified that it expects to come online in the next year to 16 months.
The lack of providers doesn't only impact families seeking child care, it also impacts businesses as they try to hire and retain employees.
In a chamber survey sent to Flathead Valley businesses, almost all of the 197 respondents reported child care related problems. According to a Montana Department of Labor and Industry survey, caring for children or elderly relatives is the third most common reason for workers leaving the workforce.