by John Dowd
The Bitterroot Early Learning Network (BELN) has been making efforts to address childcare shortcomings in the valley since its inception as the preschool, Evergreen Kids Corner. Since their rebranding and expansion, the organization has been working to take that a step further. After holding a summit last year, which called upon experts to speak and discuss issues facing childcare in the valley and in the nation, the organization has been pinpointing ways it can help the community address these issues directly. Within the last few weeks, they have announced the launch of their Ravalli Child Care Advantage (RCCA).
This initiative is similar to one started in Missoula, called the Missoula Child Care Advantage, and hopes to address the challenges parents have finding childcare in the Bitterroot Valley. According to Ariella Fabra, BELN executive director, there is a critical shortage of child care services in Ravalli County. The county is in what is considered a “childcare desert,” meaning that the area meets less than a third of the demand for childcare. This problem is not unique to Ravalli County, and much of Montana suffers the same shortfall. According to Fabra, this leads to numerous issues in the household, chiefly a difficulty finding and maintaining work.
The initiative was designed to stabilize the child care sector in the area by providing support to existing providers, while also increasing the availability of care slots for working families. The initiative hopes to promote more providers to open up shop in the area, and help young people find that career.
As Fabra explained, the initiative comes down to three parts, the business, the families and the child care sector. For businesses, the RCCA aims to support local businesses by providing their employees with priority access to participating child care facilities, improving employee retention and productivity. For families, they want to offer peace of mind through easier access to quality child care, helping working parents balance family and career. Finally, for the child care sector, the initiative will focus on stabilizing and supporting child care providers by offering training, professional development and shared services, ultimately enhancing the quality of care for children in the community.
The RCCA initiative will partner with University of Montana’s Bitterroot College Workforce Development and Training to offer internship opportunities for teens pursuing early childhood education degrees. The goal is for this partnership to help address Montana’s workforce shortage in the child care sector, ensuring long-term stability for providers and job opportunities for aspiring educators. This will help build a pipeline of qualified early childhood educators by offering academic credentials and training experience to student participants. It will also help them receive practical field experience.
Businesses that participate will be allowed priority access to child care slots, allowing their employees peace of mind that their children will be cared for. Businesses will buy into memberships that will help fund the overall initiative. These can be purchased on behalf of their staff, or in support of the initiative for the community. Members can expect reasonable fees, as the initiative hopes to diversify funding sources to further the impact of the program. For example, currently the membership fee estimate for a business with one to five employees would be $250 per year. For businesses with 41 to 50 employees, the fee could be $5,000 per year.
According to Fabra, several community businesses said they do not have employees with children, but see the importance this initiative would have for the community. This information comes from BELN’s partnership with the Bitterroot Chamber of Commerce. Because of this, there may be an interest in businesses and organizations supporting such an initiative. There are opportunities for sponsorships for these entities as well.
In the end, BELN sees this initiative helping to stabilize the workforce, and support local families. By improving access to high-quality child care, RCCA also contributes to the well-being and development of the community’s youngest members, setting them up for future success.
All of this will have a direct impact on the local economy. According to Fabra, everything BELN tries to do is meant to aid families and children. Their initiative hopes to “advocate family forward practices,” as Fabra described.
RCCA is in its pilot year and aims to raise $70,000 to cover program costs, including provider shared services, staff salaries and outreach efforts. Though the initiative has funding from its partnership with BELN, community support and partnerships with local businesses are essential to ensuring the success of RCCA and its long-term sustainability. They estimate that they will need around 20 to 30 businesses to participate, depending on the size of those businesses, in order to make the program sustainable.
For more information on the Bitterroot Early Learning Network, or their Ravalli Child Care Advantage initiative, interested parties can visit the organization website, beln.org, or call (406) 363-1688.