From Jillynn Niemeier
Monroe
To the Editor:
My name is Jillynn Niemeier, a family child care professional in Monroe. I opened fall of 2020 with 3 children and became licensed in spring 2021, during the pandemic. I am the newest regulated program in Green County and currently have 7 children enrolled, 2 of which are mine. I started on this adventure when my family and a friend were unable to find child care for our young children.
The Child Care Counts program has helped keep the tuition down for my families and has allowed me to pay myself a small wage. In 2022, the Child Care Counts program was 26% of my revenue. When the funds end in January of next year, I will have to raise my rates by an average of $50 a week per child to make up that lost revenue. This is unless the state includes at least $300 million in the state budget to continue the program.
Also, paid family medical leave would also help with the lack of child care since both parents would be able to take time off with pay. Last year, this happened with a family in care that were expecting another child. I had two under two already so I wasn’t able to take the new infant until one of the other children turned two. The parents had used all their paid leave. They had to find care for two or three days a week when I was not able to care for the child as my ratio would not allow it. Grandma had to move the days she worked to be able to care for the infant until another child turned two.
If both parents were able to take leave, the child would have been able to come when the other child turned two, been able to spend more time bonding with their parents, and the child would have had a consistent routine helping with their growth and development. I have another family this coming fall that may have to find care for their new infant until the child in the first example turns 2. This family will have to figure out care for about 4 weeks and then they will be able to join their sibling.
I invite Sen. Marklein and Rep. Novak, to come and visit my child care business. We need to all work together to address our state’s workforce challenges.
