New grant funding will help create additional child care options in region
WARREN COUNTY, NY -- Warren County Employment & Training Administration has obtained a $205,000 federal grant that will provide funding to help train local residents to open 20 additional child care businesses in Warren and Saratoga counties, addressing a shortfall in child care availability in the region.
The funding was included in a government funding bill passed by the Senate on March 10. Warren County Employment & Training, working with partners in Saratoga County and child care advocacy agencies, will seek to recruit, train, and open home-based licensed child care provider businesses to address the gaps that are keeping parents out of the workforce and impacting businesses.
The goal is to open 10 new child care providers in each county at a time when lack of child care has been identified as a significant impediment for workers.
“The child care crisis not only impacts our families and our workforce but our businesses are also impacted because of parents missing work, higher turnover costs, and the loss of productivity in the workplace,” explained Liza Ochsendorf, Warren County Director of Employment & Training. “Businesses are beneficiaries of adequate and quality child care. Therefore, it is imperative that we all work together, public and private sectors, so we are inviting businesses who are interested in partnering with us now that we have additional resources to address the challenges. We also are excited that we can support new child care providers with opening their own businesses.”
Said Lynn Sickles, Executive Director of Southern Adirondack Childcare Network: “Warren County, in keeping with the national trend, is facing a child care crisis. Working parents are scrambling to find child care in a limited supply market. The Southern Adirondack Child Care Network is looking forward to partnering with Warren County Employment and Training to increase the supply of sustainable quality child care businesses in our area.”
The funding application stemmed from a survey performed by an informal child care coalition comprised of members from both Warren and Saratoga counties in 2020-21, as the pandemic affected the availability of child care options.
The Employment & Training Departments in Warren and Saratoga counties will help market, recruit, and sponsor new child care provider candidates, while Southern Adirondack Child Care Network and Brightside Up, a Capital District child care resource agency, will facilitate the required trainings in the respective counties. The project also includes involvement of mentors to help the new business owners.
Anyone with questions about the program can call Warren County Employment & Training at 518-743-0925 or email ochsendorfl@warrencountyny.gov. Those who are interested in opening a child care business can call Southern Adirondack Child Care Network at 518-798-7972.