(Article by Mike Christopherson – Crookston Daily Times)

Maureen Hams, with Child Care Aware at Tri-Valley since 1989, says she’s never seen a shortage of licensed child care slots this severe in Crookston, and she acknowledges she thought a state grant to help tackle the problem would have had a much greater impact by now

Maureen Hams has been at this for a long time, since 1989, to be exact. She supervises several programs under the large Tri-Valley Opportunity Council umbrella, and one of them is Child Care Aware, which provides technical assistance, resources, and other forms of support to child care providers and parents, as well as communities who are looking to grow their licensed child care options.

In other words, Hams is an expert, an expert who’s never seen a child care shortage in Crookston as severe as the current one.

The thing is, when the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development last year awarded a $50,000 grant to Tri-Valley to work specifically on reducing the shortage, in partnership with the City of Crookston and other stakeholders, Hams figured all of the money would have been given out by now, in the form of mini-grants to new licensed child care providers.

But that’s far from the case. As of this week, only four mini-grants have been awarded, eating up only $8,000 of the $50,000 grant. The window to spend the grant money has already been extended once by the state, Hams said, but the Dec. 31, 2018 deadline to spend it all or give it back will be here in no time, meaning progress better ramp up significantly and in short order.

“My expectation was we’d get 10 new providers and it would be a piece of cake,” Hams said during a chat in the Tri-Valley conference room. “It has not happened, and I am surprised.”

City Administrator Shannon Stassen, who serves on the committee formed to address the shortage and has had many discussions with Hams, said he remains confident that “Crookston will see an increased number of child care slots” over the next year.

The committee on which Hams, City officials and other stakeholders serve has no choice but to keep plugging away, she said. “We just have to keep working and find the right fits, because this (career) isn’t just for anyone,” Hams said. “You need the right person who has the right passion for kids, and yet a business sensibility so you can run your business. Plus, your home has to meet certain requirements.”

CHILD CARE STORY STATISTICS

How many home-based child care slots are there currently in Crookston? 180

How many center-based child care slots are there, such as at the U of M Crookston’s Children’s Center? 164

A “gap analysis” of the child care shortage in Crookston determined how many additional slots just for infants are needed? 121

The initial goal of the $50,000 grant from the state was to add how many licensed child care slots in Crookston? 130

Since the $50,000 grant from the state was awarded more than a year ago, how many mini-grants have been awarded in Crookston and how much of the grant has been spent? 4 mini-grants have been awarded, totaling $8,000 of the $50,000 total grant

With one extension already approved, what’s the deadline to spend the entire $50,000 grant, otherwise the unspent funds have to be returned to the state? Dec. 31, 2018

But on the other hand, child care providers get to be their own boss, they get to set their own hours, and they choose families and kids that are the best fit with them philosophically, Hams added. “Of course the family is interviewing you as well, but that’s what’s beautiful about this…finding the best fit both ways,” she said.

According to Hams’ latest data, Crookston is currently home to approximately 180 licensed home-based child care slots, and 164 child care center-based slots, such as the Children’s Center at the U of M Crookston or the Sunrise Center at the Cathedral Church. The initial goal of the grant was to add 130 licensed child care slots in Crookston, Hams said, and by far the greatest need right now is for infant slots. In an “initial gap analysis” for Crookston, it was indicated that the community needed 121 more spaces for infants alone.

Regulations over burdensome?

As more time has passed and the grant’s impact has lagged behind expectations, a storyline has emerged that new providers are hesitant to enter the licensed child care field because the myriad of rules and regulations are too strict. While Hams said she hears various complaints from time to time from experienced providers when the association of local providers gets together for meetings, she also thinks that new providers might be more willing to accept the regulations, even some of the newer ones that have been especially criticized, because they don’t know any better, and they might actually want as much guidance and direction as they can get.

“It’s the first time in the business so they don’t know how to do it. ‘I have to do pre-training? OK. I have to follow these requirements? OK, I can do that,’” Hams explained. “They don’t have another perspective; their only perspective is they’re caring for other people’s kids, so there should be rules.”

In her view, Hams said concerns about regulations pale in comparison to lack of health insurance for child care providers. “If you need health insurance, this is not the business for you,” she noted.

Hams agrees some regulations can be a bit much, like a new one that would require immediately family members of home child care providers to be photographed and finger-printed. But another new regulation, the requirement to formulate and post an “emergency plan” in the event of an emergency, are for the most part based on common sense. “If something happens, when you do evacuate? How do you evacuate? When do you shelter in place?” Hams said. “Those are things you’d want to know and have established, I would think.”

Center-based approach

Hams acknowledges that providing so many new licensed child care spaces in Crookston is going to be even more of an uphill battle if a few slots are simply added here and then via home-based child care operations. A “center-based solution” would obviously have a bigger impact, but she also knows that opening a child care center or two involves a much larger scope, likely more partners, and a lot more money.

“On the infants and toddlers solution alone, a center would be a really big step,” Hams said, adding that she thinks incorporating a center-based approach as stakeholders work to add child care spaces in Crookston is wise. “Yes, it’s expensive, yes, there are regulations, but for a community the size of Crookston, a center is a realistic option,” she said.

A sort of hybrid between a center and a home-based operation would be a central location where multiple providers have their own specific place for the kids in their care under one roof, but then they share a common outdoor space, restrooms and a kitchen area. There was some quiet chatter recently in Crookston about possibly having a similar operation in a potentially renovated Central Junior High School building downtown, but Hams, while liking the concept, said that wouldn’t be doable…yet. The state Department of Health and Human Services hasn’t yet decided if it will allow such an operation, so right now it would be a “no go.”

The poster child that is spurring growing interest in child care operations on a similar scope is found in Detroit Lakes, Hams said, where the operation revolves around Head Start. “The state is wondering if it’s a good idea to do it without the Head Start collaboration,” she said, adding that the debate might end up involving the legislature at some point.

Pressure created by shortage

When Hams attends gatherings of the local child care provider group, she hears constant chatter about the shortage, who’s getting the most calls from parents in search of child care, who has the longest waiting list, etc. She heard one provider recently had a waiting list 26 names long.

“Since I’ve been doing this, there have been constant ebbs and flows, but this is the worst I’ve seen it,” she said. “We’ve done recruitment projects over the past 25 years, and then we’ve actually had too many (available child care spaces). Now, I don’t think that will be a problem.”

Experienced providers are retiring, she said, and there’s no one to fill the void. Whether it’s local businesses not being able to attract workers or school district enrollment suffering, Hams said she agrees that at some point a child care shortage of the degree Crookston is currently experience does “start to stunt” community growth and progress.

“We seem to have viable locations but a shortage of providers may be the biggest challenge right now,” Stassen told the Times. “Like every profession, child care is experiencing a loss of quality workforce due to retirement. We are working hard to replace those valued providers.”

Hams said efforts to publicize the grant have run the gamut. Efforts have especially been made to target young families that might see the benefit of having a parent watch their own children for free at home while getting paid to take care of children from other families, Hams noted. Word of mouth is often an effective tool, too.

“There might be a provider working with a family and she says, ‘You know, you’d be good at this, too,’” she said. “And students at UMC, we’ve had good luck with a few of them that have gotten into the business.”

Students at UMC studying early childhood and early childhood education need to know, Hams noted, that they will have job security. “You’re not going to make a ton of money, but you are going to be employed,” she said. “And it’s especially a win-win if you have your own kids.”

The fact that the extreme child care shortage remains in Crookston and that investments courtesy of the grant have been painstakingly slow to transpire hasn’t dampened Hams’ enthusiasm. If nothing else, it’s shown how critically employment high-quality and high-quantity child care is to a community, and even a region.

“It’s exciting for the child care field, to be able to say we are a part of the infrastructure in a community,” she said. “How will we manage community growth without child care? It’s exciting to watch the change this growing need is having on our industry. People are taking these jobs extremely seriously, they see how important this rewarding work is to a community.”

With summer right around the corner, it’s time to think about how children who receive free or reduced-priced lunch in school will eat healthy while school is out. Tri-Valley Opportunity Council, Inc. provides free meals to children during the summer.

Eleven of Tri-Valley’s centers throughout Minnesota and one in North Dakota will offer Summer Food Service Programs. Locations include, Breckenridge, Brooten, Crookston, Danube, East Grand Forks, Elysian, Glencoe, Grafton (ND), Owatonna, Sleepy Eye, and St. Cloud. Center locations and times of service can be found at www.tvoc.org. Other questions can be directed toward Jami or Deb at 218-281-5832 or 1-800-584-7020.

Summer Food Service Programs (SFSP) are a federal child nutrition program funded by the USDA. SFSP is designed to provide healthy meals during the months of June, July, August, and September when school is out to kids and teens ages 18 and under and available to persons with disabilities, over 18, and who participate in school programs for people who are mentally or physically disabled.

The Crookston Housing and Economic Development Authority (CHEDA) brought the board, city council, Crookston Chamber of Commerce, and other interested parties on a tour of housing options in Crookston after their meeting on Tuesday morning.

One of the stops was at the Agassiz Townhomes on the north end of Crookston.  The tour was led by Jason Carlson, Tri-Valley Opportunity Council CEO, who showed off a two room and a three-room townhome.  Carlson said the townhomes are well built. “We are really proud of it.  We feel this will be a wonderful addition to the community, utilizing that brownfield site first and foremost is going to be a big deal and the quality of units we are bringing online is going to be a benefit to the community,” said Carlson. “We are held to some very high standards with the framing, insulating, and air sealing which demonstrate how well built these buildings will be when they are complete.”

Two of the townhome buildings are up with work being done on the inside while the framing of a third building is currently being worked on. “When the foundation is complete (on the third building), they will move to the south side of the property and build three more buildings which will generally be the same orientation with smaller buildings close to the middle of the property and a larger on the south end of the property line,” said Carlson.

There will be 18 three-bedroom units at 1,568 square feet and 12 two-bedroom units at 1,322 square feet with attached garages. “There will be at least a half-bath on the main floor of all the units, a full bath upstairs,” said Carlson. “All of the units will have heating and cooling and everything a family would need.”

The estimated rent for the two bed room townhomes is $680 per month with an estimated utilities cost of $110 per month.   The three-bed room rent will be $745 with estimated utilities at $131 per month.  “This absolutely was targeted to the lower income workforce, that is why there are so many three bedroom and two-bedroom units.  There isn’t a single bedroom or studio units,” said Carlson. “We are hoping families that work in town will choose this new development and have children for the school district and make their home in Crookston.”

They are hoping to start leasing units on the north-end of the property sometime in August or September and the rest of the units in October.  The project was made possible by the work of many entities working together. “It has been a wonderful partnership between the city and CHEDA and a lot of local employers that contributed and Tri-Valley and I am going to preach about that until the folks are tired of hearing from me,” said Carlson. “It is a community project and I was very happy to show off some tangible progress.  We all have different resources we can bring to the table and work to combine those resources, we can do a lot more together than we can individually.”  (Photos courtesy of KROX Radio)

(Elysian, Minn.)- On Monday, March 26, Josh Syrjamali, Chief of Staff for Congressman Tim Walz, and five of Congressman Walz’s staff visited the Elysian Area Learning Center. The purpose of their visit was to learn more about the Migrant and Seasonal Head Start program as well as the needs of early childhood programming in the rural service area.  In addition to Congressman Walz’s staff, Tri-Valley’s staff of Lindsay Vokaty, Edna Tudon, Cindy Strand, and Anita Swift were joined by Migrant and Seasonal Head Start parents: Monica Garcia and Juanita Picazo and Policy Council members, Diana Escamilla and Sondra Gongora, as well as one of our star toddler students from last summer.

The discussion covered a variety of topics that were important to Head Start and Migrant and Seasonal Head start.  Diana and Sandra shared information about the role of Policy Council in head start as well as some of their personal experiences as a PC member. Parents discussed how much their children benefited from the Head Start school readiness program – stating that when their children entered kindergarten teachers were so impressed with the knowledge, social skills, and confidence the children brought with them.  Concerns that we heard from all parents was the difficulty in finding qualified teachers, transportation, funding, and length of services.

Discussion also included the impact of stricter immigration enforcement, the lack of funding for the agriculture bill, school readiness, professional development, and several other issues that affect people living in rural areas.

A regional follow up meeting will be held on Thursday, April 12 in Waseca. This meeting will continue the conversations that were started across southern Minnesota during the staffer’s tour of the area. Anita, Cindy, and (hopefully) two parents will be attending this Regional Vitality Summit.

If you are currently working at a nonprofit in the Northwest region, you are invited to join this free, informal discussion and information sharing group hosted by the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits. The networking lunch will be held at Tri-Valley Opportunity Council, Inc. in Crookston on Monday, March 26 from 12 – 1 pm. There is no charge for this event.

Each month at the networking lunch, a topic is identified around which the majority of the discussion will revolve. Participants are encouraged to share questions, examples and insights related to the topic discussed in the session. In addition to the featured topic discussion, each session will include time to network and ask questions. This network is free and no RSVP is necessary. You are invited to bring your lunch, business cards and ideas. If you have any questions about the Northwest Region Networking Lunches, please contact Ashley Charwood, Northwest Minnesota regional coordinator, at acharwood@minnesotanonprofits.org or 218-407-5202.

2018 Tri-Valley Dates:
* March 26 – Crookston
* October 10 – Crookston

The Tri-Valley Foster Grandparent Program held its yearly Christmas Party on Friday December 1, 2017 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Crookston.  The students in grades K-4 from Our Saviors Lutheran Day School started out by entertaining  the group by singing Christmas songs.   Two of our Foster Grandparents who were unable to attend our annual recognition event in October were given their awards at the Christmas Party.  They were Carol Liebl who volunteers at St Michaels in Mahnomen  as well as Delores Lein who volunteers at Challenger Elementary in TRF.   They were both very surprised and happy  to receive the  “World of Difference” award.   The award is engraved with, “With the little things you do every day, your impact spreads far and wide. Your commitment to improving lives inspires and motivates us all… You make a world of difference.”   Bingo was played, prizes won, singing was done and a wonderful brunch of muffins and egg bake was enjoyed by all who attended.

Hello my name is Oscar & Vanessa Rivera,

My family and I were having a bad time after my husband lost his job. I was the only one working while he stayed home with the children and looked for another job. He applied at Seneca and he got the job, we then had to look for child care for our five children. Rosa Lopez asked my mother-in-law if she knew of anyone with children that worked in agriculture and my mother-in-law told her about us. So Rosa told her to have us go to the Head Start center and apply. So my husband went the next day we were approved.

I did not want my children to be watched by people that were not family but we had no other choice. I am glad that I agreed to have my children attend the center. They learned a lot and were prepared for kindergarten. The staff were so attentive with my children I am very grateful for this program. They did not only learn to write their names and ABC’s but they learned good manners and my youngest even learned some sign language. I would recommend this organization to anyone that I know. My children enjoyed their time at the center and we are very pleased and happy that our children were being cared for very well.

My husband worked at Seneca for four years and four out of five of my children came to the center. My children attended the Glencoe and Hutchinson Centers all those years. I am also an employee of Tri-Valley and have been a health assistant for five years and I have enjoyed my time here. I am grateful to Tri-Valley for not only the job opportunity but for taking such great care of the children.

Sincerely,

Oscar & Vanessa Rivera