Minnesota’s ‘Day Without Childcare’ Highlights Needs, Challenges of Childcare Today

Childcare centers throughout the state of Minnesota closed their doors Monday in observance of a “Day Without Childcare” as a way to highlight the importance of childcare.

In Bemidji, parents and family-care providers held a press conference at Northwest Technical College to highlight the challenges they see in the childcare industry. The common room at NTC was filled with families and providers who were trying to fix what they feel is an outdated childcare system.

“We all have the same goal: affordable and accessible, high-quality childcare for families, and wages for teachers and providers that allow them to stay in childcare,” said Pine Pals Administrator Lydia Pietruszewski at the event.

Families all around the country face many different challenges regarding childcare, including simply finding a facility that can take care of their child.

“It was an additional five months of waiting until we got a call for an available spot,” said Rebecca Katz, a local mother. “For five months, Jesse and I both worked full-time and somehow took care of a growing infant before, during, and after work.”

Sometimes other members of the family have to drop everything they are doing in order to be the childcare provider themselves.

“Our daughter struggled to find daycare for him and she had been on waiting lists for months,” said Tauni Wilson, owner of Grandma’s Family Daycare. “Finally, one had popped up and they had a moment of optimism. But then, only a week before she was scheduled to return to work, that childcare had to close due to a COVID outbreak. We were able to step in and provide care for our grandson. My husband and I agreed to leave our livelihood behind and start over for the sake of family.”

Lack of childcare not only affects the families trying to seek it. Businesses can also be impacted as well as essential services like healthcare systems.

“Lack of childcare has prevented an increasing number of our key employees from being able to return from their leave after they give birth to their children,” explained Megan Steigauf, Sanford Health Northern Minnesota Vice President Chief Human Resources Officer. “We are hearing an increased number of employees not able to accept offers, job offers that we make to them because they can’t find childcare to accept the offer.”

Any impact to the staffing at Sanford Health can also affect the patients they are caring for.

“Lack of access. Longer wait times. Canceled appointments,” added Steigauf.

The main takeaway from each of speakers at the press conference was that childcare affects our future.

“High-quality childcare creates a pipeline of understanding, learning, and trust in teachers, in schools that can continue throughout high school and even beyond to things like trade schools, colleges and the workforce,” stated Katz. “Simply put, high-quality childcare builds better adults.”

Kids Count on Us, the organization behind the childcare center closures, were aiming to have more than 100 facilities closed throughout the state yesterday to demonstrate the need for childcare.