Finding adequate child care is not just a local issue — it’s a global one, as well.
It’s an issue that business owners tried to get their heads around during a March 20 summit at Stubborn Brothers Brewery put on by Shawano County Economic Progress Inc., Shawano Country Chamber of Commerce and the Shawano Area Young Professionals.
Bec Kurzynske, a Krakow resident and employee benefits director for M3, gave some sobering numbers on Wisconsin’s child care crisis. Out of 577 child care facilities in the state, 19% are closing due to reduced capacity, because they can’t hire adequate staff to run the program, she said. That results in almost 6,000 slots for children being lost, and 76% of the programs that are still open have waiting lists because they also struggle to hire staff.
Kurzynske noted that businesses can do more to help employees as many people are questioning whether they want to have children due to the expense and difficulties of finding child care. She pointed out that only 9% of employers offer family building benefits.
“There’s certainly an opportunity, if your organization can be more flexible in terms of the leave that you provide or the benefits that you offer,” Kurzynske said.
There are dependent care flexible spending accounts offered through the federal government, but families only receive $5,000, an amount that has been in place since 1986, according to Kurzynske. The funds can be saved tax-free for child care, she said.
“This one disgusts me,” Kurzynske said. “I think it’s ridiculous that the federal government still thinks $5,000 for dependent care is an appropriate amount that folks are able to save.”
She recommended that businesses band together to advocate for changes and updates to programs that would make it easier for families to afford child care. She also recommended businesses be flexible with their employees’ work hours so that they can care for their children after school lets out.
“It could be things like allowing for volunteer time off to allow your employees to be able to volunteer at child care centers,” Kurzynske said. “It could be matching funds for contributions for costs that aren’t covered related to programming efforts. Are there ways to make accommodations for child care within your environment? When the school day ends, and your employee has to work until 4:30 or 5, can those kiddos come to work with them?”
A lack of child care facility options has local school districts examining how they can help with the situation. Bonduel School District has a program in place, while Wittenberg-Birnamwood School District is looking at ways it can provide care. The Shawano School District has plans, if a referendum passes April 2, to convert space at Hillcrest Primary School into a child care facility that would serve up to 88 children.
Kurt Krizan, Shawano’s superintendent, noted that a recent survey showed that child care is the No. 1 issue families are concerned with. He said 66% of respondents said they would support a school-based child care program, and that there are five children for every three available spots in facilities.
“We had a staff member in our district who was pregnant. She lives in the Kaukauna area,” Krizan said. “On the day she found out, she contacted a day care where she wanted to send her kid. They started charging her $300 per week to hold her spot. She was looking at 10 months out, and her kid wouldn’t even start until September, and she had the baby in January.”
Krizan added that his school district was trying to be a solution to the problem.
However, several child care center operators in attendance expressed concern that the public school center might poach their teachers and caregivers because they can offer higher pay. Emily Schwartz, who operates St. James Early Child Care, said her program has tried to expand but has run into a roadblock from the city of Shawano.
“The church and day care has tried for over two decades trying to buy the lot between here (Stubborn Brothers Brewery) and there (the child care facility),” Schwartz said. “The city will not sell it to us, because they think a business is interested in that lot.”
Sam Sperberg, SAYPro president, noted that a local survey showed 63.2% of its members, ages 21-40, need after-school care, and 36.8% need child care before school starts.
“If we don’t have child care, we don’t have workers,” Sperberg said.
lpulaski@newmedia-wi.com
Summit shows crisis level for child care
