MONROE — The City of Monroe Common Council has agreed to expand the number of allowable slots for home day-care facilities from 8 to 12 — a move Mayor Tom Miller said may boost the supply of a desperately needed resource here.

A measure to make such a change to the zoning code was on the Sept. 8 Common Council agenda; and a public hearing held. No one from the public spoke on the matter, nor did any council members; and the measure passed unanimously.

“It’s a minor change on our part that we hope will help with what is a problem in our community and elsewhere,” Miller said Monday, referring to the Sept. 8 vote.

Miller said the expansion mirrors a recent change in state law expanding the allowable number of home daycare slots to 12. The revision to local ordinances was suggested by a local provider who needed the change to accept additional children, he said.

Often, there are waiting lists to get children into day care, and the problem is generally worse for younger children and babies, experts say.

In fact, state, local and private sector officials have been working to alleviate the problem for years, and those efforts were made even more critical when, this June, extra government funding allocated to daycare providers during the COVID-19 crisis dried up.

In Green County, the average cost of full-time child care ranges from $773 to $1,065 per month. Costs depend heavily on the child’s age and whether parents choose a commercial daycare center or a licensed home-based provider, such as those regulated by the expanded city ordinance.

Data from the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families and local reports show that while roughly 1,700 children under age 5 require care in Green County, the total regulated capacity is capped around 1,204 slots — leaving a shortage of about 500 to 600 slots. The county has experienced a 40% decline in child care programs over the last decade (dropping from 52 to 31 active providers).

That means the average family with children receiving childcare in the county would need to earn about $130,000 per year (or about $2,500 per week) in order to meet the 7% threshold set by the HHS. However, the average household in next door Lafayette County makes approximately $76,500.

The problem isn’t any better in Lafayette County. According to 2026 data from the Dept. of Children and Families, Lafayette County has five licensed providers with a total capacity of 38 children.