Third Annual Care Partner Network Summit focuses on childcare
JOPLIN, Mo. — Each community in the Four States has some of its own unique challenges. But one that almost all of them share in common is not enough childcare services for working parents. An event at an area university is designed to change that.
“Every community needs to work together, cause it’s an economic development issue, that’s what childcare is,” said Ann Elliott, Executive Director, The Family Resource Center.
Figuring out how to solve the problem of a lack of childcare services in most communities was one of the focuses of the Third Annual Care Partner Network Summit held on the MSSU campus on Tuesday.
Light of Hope Luncheon shines spotlight on Jasper County CASA
Joplin School District introduces free preschool program for local families
Third Annual Care Partner Network Summit focuses on childcare
Concert Truck stops in Joplin for 7 performances, here’s where
Joplin Regional Community Foundation gives out $130k in checks
“It’s really about the relationships that we have built over the last three years of collaborating together and so we bring it back to our individual agencies, we can bring it back to, you know, city officials, there’s no limit to who we can share this information with,” said Jennifer VanHoose, Care Partner Network Director.
The network is made up of 90 plus agencies and is a function of the United Way of Southwest Missouri and Southeast Kansas.
Economic Security Corporation of Southwest Area is in the process of making more daycare slots available, not just for parents who can’t afford private child care, but also for those who can.
“I encourage everybody who’s interested to fill out an application, with the new classrooms, the new Early Head Start classrooms opening and us being out for or getting ready to be out for summer and pulling for the next school year, we have a lot of kiddos moving onto Kindergarten, so now is a great time to apply,” said Kelly Creech, Family Development Coordinator, Economic Security Corporation.
“So we have Sugar Creek, we have in the old Washington School Building and then we are building at Via Christi Ascension behind Via Christi we are taking and refurbishing an old building,” said Elliot.
Ann Elliott is the Executive Director of the Family Resource Center in Pittsburg and says her community has no less than three locations under renovation in order to provide more daycare spots for working parents.
“So everybody needs to work together to see what you need in your community and how you can solve that, and businesses have a big role in that, I mean they can help subsidize, they can help subsidize for their families, so there’s a lot of things that everybody can do but you have to work together, you can’t just run a childcare by yourself,” said Elliott.
Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
