The supply of child care in North Dakota is not meeting the need.
See full report on the data here: http://www.ndchildcare.org/data-pub/child-care-summit.html
This week, the Governor released the final report for Vision 2020 and Beyond. Child care is the first of only three priorities from research by the Governor and state Chamber. The Governor's budget includes $5 million. That won't go very far to serve the nearly 1,000 children on Head Start's waiting list, let alone the thousands of children whose parents need quality care so they can both feed their families and help keep the state's economic engine humming.
http://governor.nd.gov/media-center/news/dalrymple-greater-north-dakota-chamber-present-2020-beyond-recommendations
In every statewide analysis of what North Dakotans feel is important to them, the lack of childcare services has risen to the top of the list of needs. Quality, affordable childcare is necessary for the health and stability of families and a stable workforce. The governor has recommended $5 million for childcare facilities. This is a start, but the actual needs for childcare are as much as 30 TIMES that number for the ongoing costs of taking care of our children including workforce and operational support. The "business" of childcare does NOT respond to market-driven supply and demand. Taking care of our children is not like building a widget factory.
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