The idea of ​​daycare “pods” is taking off in Fergus Falls

Child care deserts across greater Minnesota have reached crisis level. According to the Center for Rural Policy and Development, as the state’s population continues to grow, the problem is getting worse. Although rural areas of Minnesota are the hardest hit, the Twin Cities area is also suffering.

Licensing for child care providers is divided into two types, said Marnie Werner, vice president of research at the Rural Policy Center. There are centers that operate out of some type of facility, and then there are licensed in-home or family day care.

When she started looking for child care about 10 years ago, child care capacity in the Twin Cities was split between about 75 percent centers and 25 percent family-run operations, she said. But in rural Minnesota it was the opposite, where the percentage of family-run care was about 70 percent and center-based care was 30 percent.

“If you’re trying to open a center in a rural area where income is lower anyway, on average, it’s going to be difficult for child care in the family,” she said. “

In the Twin Cities, the capacity is there but parents struggle with affordability, and in greater Minnesota it’s the opposite, Werner said. Although they are affordable, there are fewer options.

Family daycares struggle with expenses such as cleaning products and insurance. As baby boomers retire, no one is replacing them, which Werner said is leading to a shortage of providers.

Regardless of the causes of challenges in accessing child care, Werner said the problem doesn’t just affect people with children.

“It increases businesses’ expenses. It makes it difficult for them to expand. This affects property taxes and the amount of money circulating in the local economy,” she said.

She noted that someone who cannot work because they lack child care may be more likely to receive some type of financial support from the state, causing taxpayers to bear some of the burden.

The antlers appear as a solution at Fergus Falls

In Fergus Falls, population about 14,000, there is a shortage of about 400 child care spots. That’s what prompted PioneerCare, an assisted living facility, to try something new.

Amid a nursing shortage during the COVID-19 pandemic, PioneerCare has closed its memory care unit. She then opened a daycare center in the remaining empty space to care for employees’ children. It’s called Pioneer Kids.

Located within walking distance of the main facility, it provides care for 14 children Monday to Friday, 6am-4pm, with space to drop off additional children as needed.

What makes nursery design so tempting is its similarity to a regular home. The living room has a TV and sofas, and the refrigerator is decorated with children’s artwork hung with magnets.

Lisa Votaw has over 29 years of experience working in childcare and is a daycare director.

“We call this Lisa’s house because it’s my house,” she said. “We set it up as a home setup.”

Futaw said she had been on a different career path for many years, but after the birth of her daughter, Futaw opened her own daycare center and realized she had found her calling.

“It keeps me young. I just look forward to working every day. Every day is different,” she said. “I love what I do. There aren’t many people who can say that’s a true passion for my work.”

The model worked so well that community leaders reached out to PioneerCare to help facilitate the expansion of child care to the broader community, partnering with local government and area nonprofits to find a community solution.

Expanding the pod model

That entails using land owned by the organization to build a small cluster of duplex-like child care pods on it, said Nathan Johnson, PioneerCare’s CEO.

“We have a site, we have a builder, we have a proven plan, we have construction plans, but we are looking to build six independent child care pods that we will lease to independent child care providers who will essentially run their own child care businesses out of these pods,” he said.

Each child care provider can care for approximately 10 to 14 children, depending on how they choose to license their pod, Johnson said.

Jamie Rethwisch works at PioneerCare and has two young children who attend daycare. She likes the idea of ​​expansion, because she said she knows the problems some families face when accessing child care.

“I’ve talked to many people who perhaps can’t work full hours or aren’t able to return to the workforce because their daycare closes at 2 p.m., and their job can’t facilitate that.” “Or they’re asked to work every weekend, and they don’t have day care. So, there are a lot of barriers to that.”"

Katie Janeway is the Child Care Project Manager for the City of Fergus Falls and Otter Tail County. The adaptability of the final product may be just the shot in the arm the community needs to mobilize more providers, she said.

“They’ll be able to run their software just like they do at home, which is really cool. I think that can often be a barrier for people,” she said. “Either they don’t own their home and are therefore unable to provide care, or their home is not set up in a way to accommodate it, or they don’t want the wear and tear. You know, kids are hard on the staff.”

Janeway said this would be a good opportunity for people to become caregivers for children who wouldn’t otherwise do so.

The project includes a partnership with Habitat for Humanity and is expected to cost about $1.4 million. Construction is scheduled to begin this spring.