Daycare availability is a concern for many parents around the U.S.; The community of Milnor is finding ways to address the issue in Sargent County. Todd McDonald has this story.
A celebration in the community of Milnor, North Dakota, Friday, as officials with the State Department of Commerce, along with staff and management of Camryn's Clubhouse, held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a recently completed daycare expansion. Bryce Hogness is a vice president of Youth Opportunity Unlimited Milnor. The civic group helped chaperone the expansion in conjunction with the state.
He says expanding the available space from 64 enrolled children to 122 with the new addition is huge.
"It's huge for every community all around the country. I mean you see it even in Fargo, but in Fargo you have options to take them. We're the only center in the county, so to be able to offer a place for new families that want to come in that are looking to take a job here locally, we don't want that to be the barrier for them to having access to our community."
Camryn's Clubhouse opened in 2015. Ten years later the operation continues to grow, along with the additional space for children, the center employs nine full-time and four part-time staff. Hogness says the daycare tries to provide competitive salaries for employees. From there he says it's a matter of finding the right people.
"The people that stay here are the ones that want to be here, the ones that care about the kids.
I mean you can you can see it in their faces and you can see it in the kids' faces. They have a really special connection with with the kids and I I see that every day."
The Commerce Department and the child care grants helped expand 60 different facilities around North Dakota, creating space for 2,500 additional child care spots.
For Prairie Public, I'm Todd McDonald.