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Head Start directors warn Okanogan may lose licensed childcare slots as lease nears expiration
Summary
Head Start leaders told commissioners their lease expires in August and they have found no suitable relocation site in Okanogan; county staff said bond restrictions and the presence of public defenders complicate continued use of a county building but county HR and commissioners said they will investigate options and regulatory solutions.
Jody DeChesri, executive director of the Okanogan County Child Development Association, and Julie Colbert, the association’s director of administration, told commissioners the Head Start lease in Okanogan expires in August and the program has been unable to find a replacement building.
"We do not have a building to relocate into the Okanagan community at this point," DeChesri said, noting staff had reviewed more than two dozen properties and narrowed candidates to two that did not work out. The program asked commissioners to reconsider whether space in a county-owned building could remain available, saying the loss of roughly 20 licensed slots in the city would force families to travel to other towns.
Commission staff and commissioners described legal and funding complications. One commissioner explained bond restrictions can limit leasing of bond-funded buildings ‘‘to a state or federal agency’’ and that the county’s prior plan for the building had changed when the public defender contract was brought in-house. County risk/HR staff said the county is handling defendants who are subject to conditions barring them from proximity to children by arranging off-site supervision to avoid violations; HR recommended resolving the issue so defendants can meet conditions without disrupting childcare services.
Why it matters: Head Start slots are a scarce resource in Okanogan; staff and commissioners said losing a local center would require families to travel or juggle multiple childcare sites, a burden for working families.
Next steps: County HR/risk staff offered to research comparable arrangements in neighboring counties and to check with child-care licensing about whether a supervised, locked childcare center can co-exist with county offices and on-site defenders. Commissioners and staff agreed to follow up by email with jurisdictional examples and to pursue any necessary clearance or temporary arrangements while the county explores long-term solutions.
Ending: Program leaders said they prefer to remain in the county-owned space if it can be made compatible with judicial and safety requirements; county officials said they will check models used in nearby counties and report back.
