The Atlantic City Council, Wednesday, heard a presentation with regard to Child Care in the community and in Cass County. The meeting was held electronically, due to COVID restrictions. During the Council’s session, Cass-Atlantic-Development Corporation (CADCO) Executive Director Jennifer McEntaffer mentioned the City of Atlantic recently lost 100 child care spots. The lack of child care, she said, becomes an economic development issue with a parent or parents not being able to go to work.

Shirley Urich, Community Development Specialist with Child Care Resources and Referral of Southwest Iowa, said Atlantic recently lost one child care center and two in-home providers. In an effort to increase the number of qualified child care providers, CCR&R is hosting a series of “Child Care Ready ” programs, which helps child care centers and home care providers become staffed so they can serve more children.

Through the online recruitment events, they hopes to recruit, retain, train and support quality childcare and early education providers. McEntaffer said said CCR&R have partnered with the Iowa Women’s Foundation to provide a small $250 incentive grant to each participant who completes the series.

Funding will be primarily used to pay for costs associated with the start-up of becoming a childcare home provider opening a Child Development Home business.

Atlantic Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Bailey Smith said some of the costs those business incur include mandatory CPR lessons, fire extinguishers and more. Smith said they would like to have at least $1,000 available as an incentive per start-up.

While this approach she said is a “band-aid” on the issue of insufficient child care, right now they mainly want to cover kids who are without a child care provider. In the long term, more providers will be needed in order to draw businesses and employees to town. Councilperson Grace Garrett asked what if there was any oversight on how the money is used.

(She said the prospective child care provider would not receive grant funds until their application is approved by the DHS.)

CADCO will serve as the flow-through organization for the funds.