Now, more than ever, we are better together. Green County is an amazing community and we have always found ways to come together and support each other. The current pandemic has required us to take a hard look at the entire community, assess the needs, develop an action plan, and most importantly, work to take action on the things that are most important. The time is now, and the need is childcare! 

We know that childcare is essential for our families, our workforce, and our community. We also know that the COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on childcare services in our communities. We know that access to high quality childcare and enriching experiences and interactions are critical for our children, not only for academic development, but for social and emotional development as well. 

There is growing awareness of the links among access to childcare, parental employment, and overall economic growth. Businesses rely on employees, and employees rely on childcare. When problems with childcare arise, parents must scramble to find alternative options — or miss work to care for their children. For Green County parents, that insecurity can mean working fewer hours, taking a pay cut, or leaving their jobs altogether. Meanwhile, our businesses lose money annually because of their employees’ childcare challenges. Nationally, the cost of lost earnings, productivity, and revenue due to the childcare crisis totals an estimated $57 billion each year. 

That is why working together to address our childcare needs is so critical right now. It is important that we work to address our current needs and work toward solutions to help sustain and improve our services. 

To help address the significant need in Green County for high quality childcare services, United Way of Green County and Green County Development Corporation have teamed up to:

● Support our licensed childcare providers to help them stay in business and make their businesses stronger.

● Provide support and resources to help unregulated providers become licensed, if they choose to. 

● Increase the number of licensed childcare facilities in Green County by helping people who want to start their own childcare business build a strong, sustainable business (providing business planning resources, mentors and funding to get started).

● Increase the quality of services by providing resources and support for existing childcare providers by funding things like professional development and training and looking at collaborative ways to expand early childhood services.

● Provide funding for technology needs, protective and sanitation materials, and other classroom supplies.

● Provide incentives and bonus compensation for hiring and retaining highly qualified childcare providers.

We need your help! 

If you are able to donate financially, we have established a fund with the sole purpose of providing additional resources and support to childcare providers in Green County. The fund is designed to expand local capacity to address the significant childcare needs in Green County and to do so as collaboratively and efficiently as possible. If you are able to donate supplies, a list of needs will be located on the United Way of Green County website. 

If we want to ensure our future workforce, now is the time to take steps to grow quality childcare in Green County. By working collaboratively to address community issues, we can do what no one person or organization can do alone. Together we can make our community stronger!

— Cara Carper is executive director at Green County Development Corporation. She can be reached at cara.gcdc@tds.net. Teresa Keehn is the Executive Director at United Way of Green County. She can be reached at unitedway@pecbell.com