By Marnie Craig
Half of the child care facilities in Ravalli County are closed because of the coronavirus. Kelly Rosenleaf is the executive director for Child Care Resources covering Missoula, Mineral and Ravalli Counties. “Some parents working in essential positions are struggling to find care for their children,” she said.
Child Care Resources workers call each child care facility every week to see who is still open and what openings they have available. Normally child care facilities could have 20 kids with two adults, but with social distancing, there can’t be more than 10 people in a room including the teacher. Rosenleaf said even with the restrictions many care facilities in Ravalli County still have vacancies for temporary care. If you are an essential worker and need childcare, call 406-728-6446. Leave a message and their employees working from home will get right back to you.
“Since children can be asymptomatic they can be carriers of the virus,” she said. “We encourage people to use informal care through a family member to avoid having children in group settings. It’s less risky and it’s the best choice, but we know not everyone has that choice.”
Social distancing looks different for child care. “It’s impossible to social distance in child care,” she said. “Young children don’t get it and it’s impossible to care for children from a six-foot distance. You have to help them wipe their nose, use the restroom, wash their hands and get their coat on.”
“We don’t have a solution in place for school-aged children in Ravalli County but we are working on it,” she said. “We are working to come up with child care for school-aged children for our emergency workers.”
Child Care Resources will issue a press release next week regarding the federal funding available for child care for emergency workers. After that, they will focus on the federal funds available to support the child care industry itself.