County considers new childcare resolution
By Kevin O’Brien
A newly revised childcare resolution embraces the idea of Marathon County participating in public-private partnerships for daycare services but rejects the notion of the county subsidizing the operational costs of existing centers.
The resolution, originally written by supervisor Dave Baker and later revised by supervisor John Robinson, was presented to the Education, Extension and Economic Development (EEED) Committee at its Jan. 4 meeting, but committee members felt that more revisions were needed before it could be recommended to the full county board.
County supervisors were poised to vote on the original resolution at their November meeting, but after a plea by the president of the Wausau Area Chamber of Commerce, they delayed action until after a roundtable discussion on the impact of the childcare shortage on local businesses.
In contrast to Baker’s original motion, which called for the county to scrutinize state regulations that may be driving people out of the daycare business, Robinson’s version focuses on providing limited assistance to childcare providers. Both versions dismiss the idea of the county directly subsidizing existing daycare operations, but Robinson’s leaves the door open for providing some funding for capital improvements or offering childcare for county employees.
Echoing Baker’s original draft, the newer version encourages the Wisconsin Department of Family Services and the Legislature “to review policies and regulations impacting the availability of childcare.”
However, Robinson removed many of Baker’s statements about the impact of government regulations, including references to a Badger Institute report that blames the decline in daycare providers on “burdensome” standards set by the YoungStar rating system.
At last week’s EEED meeting, Baker said he doesn’t agree with some of the changes Robinson made.
“I don’t think we’re ready to vote on a resolution at this point,” he said, noting that the county can still continue to engage in conversations with outside entities without having a resolution in place.
Robinson agreed that the resolution should continue to be revised with input from various parties, including the chamber of commerce, which he said is “very interested” in the topic because it affects employers’ ability to recruit and retain employees. The county’s role in supporting daycare providers may be “limited,” he said, but the board can still take actions to help county employees get childcare or help other businesses do the same.
“People can’t afford childcare, which is a critical issue that I think government at a higher level will need to address,” he said. (Robinson’s resolution mentions that the Wisconsin Legislature is working on a bill that would offer tax credits for businesses that provide childcare for workers).
Still, Robinson said he would support using the county’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to pay for daycare facility improvements, which would free up money for providing raises to childcare workers.
During public comment, Kelly Borchardt, director of Childcaring Inc. referral agency, thanked supervisors for continuing to discuss the childcare “crisis.” She shared data from a recent statewide report indicating that Marathon County lost 84 childcare workers in the past year, with 36 positions currently open after 77 were hired over the same time period.
Of the daycare centers that lost workers, 56 percent said it was due to low wages, 25 cited lack of benefits and 44 percent said the cost of childcare for their own children was too high to continue working. At the same time, she said 647 children are currently on daycare waiting lists, including over 500 under the age of 2.
