In the spring of 2023, the communities of Pierce County were selected to be part of Nebraska Children and Families Foundation Communities for Kids, a state-wide initiative which supports young children, families and those providing their care. The Communities for Kids initiative is a multi-year planning and implementation initiative that was created in response to community requests for assistance with shortages of high-quality early childhood care and education programs. These shortages impact children’s optimal development and pose a challenge for communities hoping to attract and retain the viable workforce they need to thrive.
Through the initiative process, Communities for Kids assists in facilitating conversations among each community’s public and private organizations. Communities for Kids also provides expertise, tools, and resources to the community to support the creation and implementation of solutions to childcare shortages.
On Feb. 26, 2024, the Pierce County Communities for Kids (C4K) Core Team hosted a Provider Gallery Walk. The Provider Gallery Walk, facilitated by Communities for Kids Technical Assistant Melissa Polinoski, provided an opportunity for all Licensed Child Care Professional in the communities to share their expertise, priorities, and solutions for child care issues facing the vitality of families and the communities in which they live. Currently, Pierce County is facing a child care crisis. The crisis stems from a deficit of the number of children in Pierce County, under the age of five with all available parents in the workforce, compared to the number of available licensed child care capacity slots.
This results in a “GAP” of available care, of which, Pierce County has 231 children that need care, but there is not a place for them to go. All community sectors, parents, providers, businesses, and educational entities are affected by Early Childhood care.
The Provider Gallery Walk, hosted by the Pierce Co. C4K Core Team, is one of many gatherings that will be implemented by the team to gather community feedback, priorities, and strategies for collectively solving the Early Childhood quality care and capacity crisis.
ThePierceCo.C4KProviderGallery Walk offered an opportunity for 25 Pierce County Licensed Childcare Providers to collaborate in offering information, and possible solutions, for supporting parents, children, and Early Childhood businesses in the four areas of: Early Childhood Dreams, Early Childhood Capacity Building, Provider Resources, and Family Needs for Those with Children 0-5 yrs.
The two-hour event offered the participants two continuing education training hours toward the required yearly 12 continuing education training hours required by the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services childcare licensure.
Brandy Price, owner/childcare provider of ABC,123 Childcare and Learning Center, and Pierce core team members said, “It was a great evening for all of Pierce County early childhood professionals from family home providers, preschool teachers, center directors, and staff to come together as professionals and address early childhood needs they are experiencing in their communities. We were also able to brainstorm ways to overcome these. These professionals realized they were not alone in these needs and many want to start meeting regularly to support each other and help their communities and businesses with high quality care!”
If anyone is interested in supporting or joining Pierce County C4K, please contact Brandy Price at (402)7505897 or email [email protected].
About Nebraska Children
Nebraska Children and Families Foundation invests in children from birth to young adulthood with initiatives that are focused on preventing negative life outcomes. Nebraska Children does this by building strong communities that support families so their children can grow up to be thriving, productive adults.
By working with community partners to understand the risks facing children at every stage of their development, Nebraska Children can identify the most effective avenues to create positive change and help Nebraska’s most vulnerable citizens reach their full potential. To learn more about Nebraska Children’s work and Communities for Kids, visit www.NebraskaChildren.org or www. communitiesforkids.org.
