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Local Birth-to-5 coalition meets in Rio Rico; countywide childcare shortages highlighted
Summary
Board member Francisco “Pancho” Padilla reported on a Birth-to-5 Partners Coalition meeting attended by about 40 providers and community leaders who discussed a shortage of licensed childcare and workforce impacts for families.
A countywide coalition of early childhood agencies and providers met at the Rio Rico Library to discuss shortages in licensed childcare and related workforce impacts, board member Francisco Padilla reported to the Nogales Public Library Board.
Padilla, who said he helps organize the Santa Cruz Birth to 5 Partners Coalition and serves as regional director for First Things First, said roughly 40 childcare providers, preschool directors and home-visiting organizations attended the most recent quarterly meeting.
Nut graf: Participants described a shortage of licensed child-care providers that limits parents’ access to safe care and constrains local workforce participation; coalition members exchanged ideas and discussed local meeting space support provided by the Rio Rico Library.
Padilla told the board that providers described challenges running small childcare businesses and families described difficulty locating licensed care. "It really turns into a workforce issue when people can't find childcare," he said, summarizing meeting feedback.
Padilla credited library staff and county staff for providing tables and chairs and for offering the library as a free, accessible venue that increased attendance from Nogales, Rio Rico and nearby communities. He said Mayor Maldonado of Nogales, a county supervisor and representatives including "Mister Vanderbilt" attended, and that several good ideas emerged from the conversation.
Ending: Padilla said the coalition meets quarterly and will continue discussing local solutions; he thanked library staff for providing meeting space and noted the importance of free, accessible venues for cross-sector collaboration on early childhood services.
