This is exactly what Indy Douglas, director of Sterling Rock Falls Child Care, wanted state Rep. Brad Fritts to see: how many parents depend on the facility to care for their children while they work. After applying for a Smart Start Illinois grant earlier this year, Douglas wanted to show local legislature just how impactful grant money is on the daycare’s daily operation and ensure that they know “[the] money is being used purposefully and appropriately.”
Douglas pointed out that the daycare is currently only operating at half capacity with a long waitlist due to a lack of funds to bring in more teachers. With help from the grant, they could hire more teachers and assist more families in the area with children ages 3 months through 5 years.
When asked what he would like people to know about childcare funding, Douglas said, “We are a 501(c)3 nonprofit, and we rely on a lot of funding to get a lot of things done. We’ve got grants for teacher salaries. We’ve got grants to support the food program. I’ve got grants to help support families with childcare. And you know, I would love to say that we were overflowing with the money, but it gets burnt up pretty quickly. There’s a lot of need out there.”
In response to a question about what the state of Illinois is doing about rising costs of childcare, Fritts said, “If we want to continue to have a productive workforce, that’s something that we need to continue to tackle.” He also noted that the state budget continually prioritizes childcare and childcare access.
At the core of Sterling Rock Falls Child Care is this message from Douglas: “[We’re] just trying to make it the best place that it can be so that way our young ones grow up to be the best that they can be.”
