Town of Johnsburg looks to bring childcare center to community

JOHNSBURG | As of right now, there are zero childcare centers in the Town of Johnsburg, but that doesn't mean the need isn't there- the need is present in spades. Looking to solve the community's childcare crisis with the possibility of a local childcare center, the Town's Childcare Committee has released a survey asking for resident feedback. "We are gathering data to understand what the needs are within our community," said Town Councilperson and Childcare Committee Chair Ann Bowers. "Childcare is an economic investment, it is workforce infrastructure, and we need it so badly. This survey helps us better understand community needs and plan thoughtfully for the future." The childcare epidemic is nothing new; it is a national problem and has continued to afflict the entire Adirondack Region and its rural towns. "I saw firsthand with my sister and her two daughters," Bowers shared. "If it hadn't been for my mother and myself, I don't know what she and my brother-in-law would have done for childcare in those early years. Thanks to the close-knit family dynamic, their issue was solved. But many aren't as lucky to enjoy that type of support system, and as a result, everything suffers. "Rural schools in the Adirondacks are experiencing long-term enrollment decline due to population decline and aging communities as drivers," Bowers said. "When you have fewer young families, you have fewer students. It is all a circle of housing, job opportunities, and childcare. One isn't more important than the other, they all need to really be spoken about- not just the problem, but the solution." And in Bower's opinion, childcare sits right in the middle of that conversation. Without childcare, parents are forced to make impossible decisions; cutting back on work, commuting long distances and driving their lives away, potentially having to leave the area. "If we want not just to attract new young families to our community, but if we want our young people to come back after college or training, we need to provide them places where they can build a life, and childcare is a huge part of that decision," Bower said. "And it is part of the larger conversation about affordable housing and job opportunities. We are going to lose that generation that we are really trying to bring back home." Out of the survey results, the Town of Johnsburg Childcare Committee will convene a round table discussion this May. "It will be connected to the larger regional work that is being done by Warren County EDC, the Birth to Three Alliance, and the Adirondack Community Foundation," Bowers explained. "There is a recognition among those larger regional partners that they need to advocate for and devise creative solutions to tackle the childcare crisis." Bowers said those models and solutions also need to be designed for the region, rural childcare differing a bit from urban childcare in terms of needs and cost. "As we are developing this smaller rounder table, we would like to bring together the stakeholders, area businesses, and regional partners so we can get an idea of what our specific needs are," Bowers shared. The intention, too, is that by having parents, current providers (like grandparents), and business owners and employers together in conference, a deeper understanding of both sides of the coin will be gained, providing a measure of clarity to the path forward. "Hopefully, there will be an opportunity to directly connect the challenges employers are facing (missed work, limited hiring capacity) to the realities of childcare access," said Bowers. "An employer may not realize those missed days and why they are having trouble hiring people are directly connected to the lack of childcare in our community. We want to leave that round table with some actual items for the next step." And for a community, a quality childcare center is the start of all things good. "When childcare center kids come into Pre-K, they are set up for success," noted Bowers. "They have been socialized, their fine motor skills have been developed, they have been exposed to language and books." The Childcare Committee already has a financial leg up- $30,000 in ARPA funds (which need to be used by 2026) have been earmarked for childcare by a previous Town board. "We inherited that funding, and it is really exciting that we have that," Bowers expressed. "We want to apply that money in a very meaningful way for a future childcare quality center." Bowers said it isn't simply about doing this, but doing it well. "We want whoever opens this childcare center to be really set up for success in our community and for it to be long-lasting, where they have support and resources at their fingertips," Bowers said. "We have a lot of great resources and partners to help us as we move forward, it is just lining everything up." To take the speedy seven-question survey and offer your input on childcare needs, please visit The Town of Johnsburg website or their official Facebook page. The Town of Johnsburg Child Care Committee welcomes support and conversation with other communities. Please email Councilperson Anna Bowers at bowers@johnsburgny.gov with questions and to continue the discussion.

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Town of Johnsburg looks to bring childcare center to community

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