RCCF Asking for Community’s Help to Identify Childcare Needs for Lilly Endowment Grant Opportunity 1st February 2024 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Chris May, cmay@rushcountyfoundation.org, (765) 938-1177, ext. 1 Rush County Community Foundation Asking for Community’s Help to Identify Childcare Needs for Lilly Endowment Grant Opportunity RUSHVILLE/RUSH COUNTY (February 1, 2024) Hancock, Henry, Fayette and Rush Counties are attempting to tackle a pressing workforce issue – childcare. The Community Foundations of Hancock, Henry, Fayette and Rush counties have collaborated with Transform Consulting Group to help identify childcare needs and opportunities in the county. “This is not an issue we can just leave families to deal with alone. The lack of childcare options in our community, the quality of programs, and high costs are issues that will impact ALL of us,” said Chris May, Executive Director of the Rush County Community Foundation. Are parents not working due to a lack of affordable and available childcare? Where are the children going while their parents work? Are they prepared for kindergarten? Is childcare in our region affordable and accessible? These are the questions the region is working to answer. When childcare is unstable for parents, it’s not just the families who suffer, but their employers as well. A 2016 report, The Economic Impacts of Investing in Early Childhood Education in Indiana, estimated that for every dollar invested in early childhood education, your return on investment can be $4-$15 due to the lower special education costs, retention costs, reduced cost for social issues (teen pregnancy, homelessness, etc.), an increase in post-secondary attainment and lower crime costs1. We don’t have to wait to see that return in 18 years, early childhood education has an immediate impact on the workforce (parents) now: 45% of parents are absent from work at least once due to childcare issues, resulting in an average of 4.3 days missed every six months. 65% of parents are late to work or leave early because of childcare challenges an average of 7.5 times over a six-month period. These childcare challenges cost US employers an estimated $3 billion annually.2 Those are the numbers that spoke to the Community Foundations when they convened around the Lilly Endowments Inc’s. GIFT VIII community leadership grant opportunity. The Community Foundations are gathering feedback from the community and looking at promising models to strengthen childcare for families and the workforce. The committee is working to engage a diverse group of community stakeholders and needs community participation in the following ways: Officials want to hear from families, businesses, and childcare providers in our counties to understand better what actions might best help local residents and employers. They’re asking that residents share their thoughts before February 15. A survey for families can be found at surveymonkey.com/r/RegionalFamily A survey for employers can be found at surveymonkey.com/r/RegionalEmployer. Responses will remain confidential. The survey should take about 10-15 minutes to complete. Please complete by Friday, February 15th. For more information about this opportunity or to arrange an interview, contact Chris May. ### 1 The Economic Impacts of Investing in Early Childhood Education in Indiana. (2016). Retrieved from https://www.elacindiana.org/elacindiana/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FINAL-ROI-Executive-Summary.pdf 2 The Economic Impacts of Investing in Early Childhood Education in Indiana. (2016). Retrieved from https://www.elacindiana.org/elacindiana/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/FINAL-ROI-Executive-Summary.pdf Like this? Share it:
