In Green County, it’s all hands on deck to fix the child care crisis

Lately, it hasn’t been uncommon for Corrine Hendrickson to get stopped at the grocery store by community members who want to talk to her about child care.

They’ve often read one of the columns she’s written about child care that have appeared in local newspapers throughout Green County, or been to an information session hosted by the Green County Child Care Network. The nonprofit, of which Hendrickson is the secretary, has been trying to change the conversation about who should care about the ongoing child care crisis — and it’s working.

“It’s been successful because it involves all of us,” said Brooke Legler, a co-owner of the Growing Tree in New Glarus and a member of the network.

The network is a rarity — there are only a handful of others like it in the state. It offers a support system for child care providers and workers. There were 97 child care providers in Green County when the network first launched in 1991, but now there are only 32, Hendrickson said.

Child care has long been a siloed industry, Legler said, without a lot of assistance or interest from the greater community. The network is trying to change that by amplifying the issues the system is facing through columns and billboards, and communicating that when the child care system struggles, it affects job growth, quality of life, and the development of future generations. Hendrickson believes this has started to shift the mindset of Green County residents.

“I do think that the conversation in this county especially has changed to acknowledge that we are professionals, that we’re small businesses, that we’re important to our community,” Hendrickson said.

One community partner that has joined the fight is the Green County Development Corporation, which is distributing roughly $80,000 in state grants, with input from child care workers themselves, to help providers pay for licensing and professional development classes that are often required by the state and for infrastructure or building needs.

It has been unique for the GCDC to get involved, said the corporation’s executive director, Olivia Otte, because child care is not traditionally considered an economic development issue. She said they want to reframe it as a critical component of the community’s economic growth.

“It really, I think, provides hope. It helps mend some of those bridges where we’re able to recognize those child care professionals and make sure they feel heard and seen and make sure we understand the important role that they play in our economy,” Otte said.

The grant helped Hendrickson, who runs her in-home child care center in New Glarus on her own, hire a substitute so she could complete the University of Wisconsin’s Infant, Early Childhood and Family Mental Health Capstone Certificate Program. Legler has used the grant money to help her staff complete the annual continuing education courses required by the state, covering the costs of the classes and paying the staff $20 an hour to take them.

Valerie Johnson used grant money to pave the driveway at her family child care center in Albany, and will use more to replace the air conditioning too. While the funding has helped, Johnson said, the network has also helped her feel less isolated. The conversation has evolved in the community since she first started working in child care 19 years ago, and it has reaffirmed that her work matters.

“It motivates me to keep going and that there’s hope,” Johnson said.

Those in Green County know that this is only making a dent in a much larger, systemic problem. While the GCDC grant money has covered some of the expenses weighing providers down, it’s only temporary relief, and they say there needs to be more aid from the state and federal governments to have a lasting impact.

But joining forces at the local level is a start and has been key to the success they’ve seen in Green County, they say.

It’s not just about collaborating, the providers said, but also about building relationships in which child care workers are valued as experts in their field.

“We know how much work and effort all of these professionals put in across the county and how needed they are,” Otte said. “It’s really a no-brainer that we want to listen to them and make sure that when we are able to get these fantastic grant opportunities, we’re utilizing the funds in the best way possible.”

“I think that relationship, that needs to be there,” Legler said. “And I think that’s missing in a lot of counties and other communities. Because I don’t think we can come up with solutions if we don’t have those relationships and acknowledge the issues and get down to the root of it.”

Others are now approaching the network about what they can do to help. Local Lions Clubs are asking them to speak at events, area banks are donating tips they receive from working concession stands at festivals, and the New Glarus Brewing Company has launched a professional development grant for child care workers.

And residents now want to stop and talk about child care in the grocery store.

Hendrickson said that other Wisconsin communities can mirror their work in Green County, even if they have to start small or informally at first. Don’t be afraid to introduce yourself, ask for meetings and tell people what you need, she said, because it’s surprising how often people say yes.

“Have the audacity to ask for what you need,” she said. “That’s the biggest thing — don’t go small, go big.”