(Jamestown, ND) -- Local childcare providers say more businesses will close if additional funding is not provided before COVID-19-related grants dry up and run out of money.
The comments come from Verla Jung, a ND Childcare Aware Consultation Services Supervisor. Jung says childcare providers were already in a dire position prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, saying the industry took a hard hit during the economic shutdown.
"We have seen a rise with a drastic drop in numbers of childcare programs and availability of places for children to go, "said Jung, "The state lost about 1,547 programs, and I'm sure economic developers across the state would agree that without childcare, it's really a workforce issue."
Jung says childcare providers will continue to struggle, and possibly even shut their doors, if funding is not provided through state or federal means. Jung says outside funding is necessary due to tight profit margins and low wages, which she says often leads to providers being unable to offer benefits to their employees.
"I've heard a center director say 'I could buy an insurance program for them but then I'd have to pay them $8 an hour', "said Jung, " It's not enticing people to come into the early childhood field, and yet its a field where all of that brain development happens before the age of five. It is crucial periods of time for our next generation. It's a real struggle to get people to be able to work in that field."
The childcare was a topic of conversation in Fargo's elections. Multiple candidates, including City Commission Elect Denise Kolpack, ran with addressing childcare issues on their platforms. North Dakota Lieutenant Governor Brent Sanford also recently addressed the topic in a Chamber of Commerce event in Fargo, saying he is working with Governor Burgum and his administration to work on a policy proposal looking to address the issue.
