By MATT PIKE
St. Joseph Post
United Way of Greater St. Joseph officials want to hear from the public about what is standing in the way of finding childcare options.
St. Joseph is one of six communities in Missouri selected to complete a Childcare and Early Education Community Planning project survey.
President Kylee Strough says the data from the survey will help paint the picture of the current state of childcare and early childhood education experiences.
"From there we'll talk about what do we desire for the community and then how do we get there?" Strough tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post. "And we've got a team of stakeholders that are helping with this, so the next time they reconvene will be to look at all the data that has been gathered."
Officials are seeking input in the survey from families that struggle to find childcare, employers, and childcare providers.
Strough says with the study they're seeking a better understanding of what the problem is.
"We hear over and over again that people have a hard time finding childcare, so we just need to understand a little bit deeper what does that mean when you have a hard time finding childcare," Strough explains. "Is it that there wasn't space available for your child, is it that you couldn't afford it, is it that the hours weren't right for you, what does that mean?"
Strough says they often hear that there are lots of childcare facilities in St. Joseph, the problem comes in all of them being filled up.
"So, if you call today and want to get your child enrolled in childcare, you may not be able to find a provider who actually has a space that they can accept your child," Strough points out. "What we don't see a lot of, is childcare providers raising their prices because they demand is so high, they can, we really see that childcare providers are trying to keep it as affordable as possible for families."
Strough says they don't see any childcare providers taking advantage of the supply and demand issue to make it work in their favor, despite childcare being expensive by its very nature.