Washington Chamber of Commerce
Main Street Washington
WEDG
City of Washington
Parent, Provider and Employer Input Needed on Child Care in Washington County.
WASHINGTON, IA (September 6th, 2021) — Child Care is a workforce/ business issue, not just a family issue! It’s estimated that one third of the US workforce (50 million workers) had a child under the age of 14 in 2020. It affects how we work, when we work, where we work and for many, why we work. Washington County is one of many counties competing for workforce/talent. WEDG decided it was the ideal time to take inventory.
Washington Economic Development Group (WEDG) (in collaboration with the Cities in WA County, ECICOG, Alliant Energy and the WA Chamber of Commerce) has contracted with First Children’s Finance (FCF) to complete a child care market study. The study will include research and analysis on: the needs of local families and children, the current supply of regulated child care, parents’ current and preferred child care, effects on employers caused by lack of child care, and child care providers’ challenges operating during COVID. The report will include the key findings of the research and analysis; the community’s child care gap; and a recommendation on the number and type of child care spots that would be reasonable to meet the community’s needs.
The research being conducted by FCF includes a survey of parents that live or work in Washington County to learn about their child care preferences, along with child care challenges they may be facing. The survey can be accessed online through September 30, 2021 at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/WashingtonIAChildCare.
“Child care solutions are vital to continued growth and expansion in our business and industry sectors in Washington County. This study will be a valuable tool to help navigate the challenges and explore solutions surrounding this vital service. We look forward to the completed report in November.” Mary Audia, WEDG Executive Director.
If you are an Employer, please fill out this survey:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/WashingtonEmployer
If you are a Child Care Provider, please fill out this survey:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/WashingtonProvider
If you have questions or would like more information about this project, contact Mary Audia with WEDG at [email protected] or 319-653-3942.
