February 6, 2025
Parents, childcare workers, and state and city representatives concerned about the challenges early childhood care is facing in the state of Wisconsin were brought together Friday morning to discuss the topic and take into account other perspectives. Panelists from across the region shared their insights on the issue and their propositions for tackling them.
Neil Kline, executive director with the non profit organization Family Friendly Workplaces, works to address the statewide workforce shortage by running employment certification programs. He claims it is morally imperative that every child has the opportunity to lead an economically successful life and doing so begins in early childhood. From an employer-employee perspective, a lack of access and price flexibility of childcare slots is a main concern for employees making it difficult to find what works for them, which impacts the workforce shortage. Regarding public policy, Neil thinks there needs to be new avenues to increase involvement in the sector, and how employers can play a role. He also says this is an economic development issue and that the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation should play a role.
Federal Reserve article about labor participation in Minneapolis.
Krystina Schumacher, administrative director of Little Star Daycare in Altoona, has been a part of early childhood education for thirteen years. Focusing on the financial hardships employers face, Krystina discusses the hiring process, saying the requirements to be considered a qualified classroom teacher are costly and people just do not have the money to do so. This includes, CPR certification, background checks, and health physicals. Because of these initial costs and a twelve dollar hourly wage once hired, workforce retention has decreased as people cannot afford to live off the pay. This ties into tuition rates and being able to sustain an affordable tuition for families, while providing quality childcare. Krystina says that four years ago, Altoona pulled 4K out of community sites which proved to be detrimental to Altoona daycares, as they were without funding from DPI. She wants more community support, not just daycare, to help send children to school.
Claire Lindstrom, parent and advocate of Raising Wisconsin, joined the panel to discuss three main issues. Accessibility, which could be viewed as a cyclical issue, is the first. It can be difficult to find childcare that caters to a family's needs and then joining a waitlist, which could be a year long. There are many centers that have the capacity for more children, but cannot find staff to keep the rooms open. The second issue is affordability. The federal government denotes affordable childcare as 7% or less than a family's gross income. Claire uses her family as an example stating, "My family and I have one son...who only goes four days a week, is 14% of my family's income." Claire's third issue is quality. A parent may have to put their child or baby in a place that is not vetted or licensed because that is all they can afford. Claire says the first step to change is statewide financial investment and business community involvement to help stabilize the industry and allow providers to pay their employees a living wage. This could include businesses providing benefits for their employees that cover certain spots at a childcare center.
Julie Stoffel, director of engagement and community outreach for the Wisconsin Early Childhood Association, travels across the state, engaging the community in discussions regarding childcare. She also owns and operates a group childcare center in Northeast Wisconsin. When asked about her perspective of issues facing childcare, she referenced statistical data. In the last decade, Chippewa, Clark, Marathon, Taylor, and Eau Claire counties have lost 200 programs, and once funding is halted in June, there is going to be even an even sharper decline in childcare closures. Julie highlights that the decline in workforce and population rates is largely due to the accessibility of childcare. "The average cost of care in this community for two children is just over $2,000 a month...just for childcare, so when you take into account, basically living expenses, most all families in this county are in the red". Julie agree with Claire that there needs to be investment at the state level allocated into the infrastructure, "because childcare is infrastructure in our communities".
Rep. Karen Hurd of the sixty-ninth district, participated in discussion as part of the Joint Finance Committee. Last session, Rep. Hurd was involved in childcare legislative work groups where she co-authored ten different bills addressing childcare situations in Wisconsin. When asked what her challenges are as a legislator, Rep. Hurd agreed that the childcare industry is a small business that requires a functioning model but is challenged by the issue of helping businesses thrive without handing out subsides. After speaking with the entire Joint Finance Committee, she says there is not enough money in the budget to do childcare accounts. Rep. Hurd backs the idea that there needs to be regulatory reform regarding teacher qualifications and licensing standards around centers.
Pictured above: Rep. Hurd speaking on the cost of childcare and start-ups with or without government assistance (Leader-Telegram).
Other local resources: Child Care Partnership, United Way Child Care Initiatives
Posted by Gigi Galdamez
Governmental Affairs Interns
galdamez@eauclairechamber.org