Child
Care Issues in Hubbard County (Part 2) will be presented by the League
of Women Voters Park Rapids Area (LWV PRA) at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, April
26 in the Northwoods Bank Community Room: (1200 1st Street E). A panel
of five experts has been invited to discuss possible solutions to the
issues raised during the first program held March 28.
The
March program was well received and raised a number of issues that,
while not only specific to Hubbard County, have a great impact on our
local economy. The first panel consisted of a parent, an experienced
provider, a newly licensed provider, the Hubbard County licensor and
foster care licensor. They discussed several topics including the
shortage of licensed providers in the county for all ages but especially
infants, the high cost of a new provider starting a business, the lack
of substitutes to cover for providers when they are sick, etc., and the
difficulty of finding which providers have current openings. These are
problems that affect all of Hubbard County, not just parents or
guardians of young children. Everyone’s quality of life is impacted when
quality childcare is not available.
April’s panel will consist of:
- Michelle Wilkowski,
a 25-year veteran of Head Start and current director of MAHUBE-OTWA
Head Start. As a licensed pre-K teacher, Michelle began her career in
early childhood as an Early Head Start home visitor and teacher before
becoming director in 2018.
- Missy Okeson, program officer
and child care lead at the Northwest Minnesota Foundation (NMF) since
2016. She collaborates with early educators, community task forces and
regional child care experts to create quality child care solutions for
the well-being of young children and families throughout the 12 counties
and two tribal nations NMF serves.
- Michele Hutchinson, a
manager, who has been in the early childhood field for over 30
years. Her experience ranges from a parent on the Early Childhood Family
Education advisory board to policy council with Head Start. Struggling
to find quality care, she operated her own group family child care along
with her own five children for over 20 years. She holds a BA degree in
Early Childhood Education from Concordia College, St Paul. Michele was
hired as a Business Development Specialist with First Children’s Finance
in August 2021.
- Dana Patsie, director of child care
programs at MAHUBE-OTWA Community Action Partnership, oversees a number
of programs that support children’s access to quality early childhood
education. Those supports include Early Learning Scholarships, Child
Care Assistance, Child Care Aware/Parent Aware Quality Coaching,
Wayfinder Navigation, and Family, Friend and Neighbor Supports.
- Maria Steen,
the Child Care Connections Director at CAPLP, a community action agency
based in Moorhead, provides resources for child care professionals to
succeed in their careers, and help families access and afford quality
child care through financial support. Our CAPLP Child Care Aware team
serves early childhood educators in the 21 counties and 2 tribal nations
of Northwest Minnesota through child care services grants, professional
development training and advising, and Parent Aware recruitment and
outreach. CAPLP also provides new Child Care Start-up + Family, Friend
& Neighbor Caregiver Support, Parent Aware Coaching, and Early
Learning Scholarships in 9 Minnesota counties.
Please join LWV
PRA for this important discussion April 26. Remember League of Women
Voters is proud to be nonpartisan, neither supporting nor opposing
candidates or political parties at any level of government, but always
working on vital issues of concern to members and the public. Please
direct any questions about LWV PRA activities, events or on how to join
by emailing lwvparkrapids@lwvmn.org.
If you missed the first program, you can view the video here: https://youtu.be/-IrXpx7BTnY
