Minot childcare committee presents resource guide, warns of long infant wait lists

Alderman Lisa Olsen and members of the Minot Childcare Committee told the Economic Development Plan Review Committee on March 21 that local parents face long waits for infant childcare and that the shortage is constraining workforce participation.

The committee presented a childcare resource guide intended as a one‑stop digital reference for parents, prospective providers and existing centers. The guide will be hosted on the MAC EDC website and the City of Minot site and, according to presenters, should go live within days.

The presenters said anecdotal reporting and interviews with employers show wait lists of three to five years in some cases, with the tightest shortages for infants. “Parents want to enter the workforce but cannot find availability,” said Scott Burlingame, a member of the childcare committee. He said employers have lost prospective hires who learned of lengthy wait lists and declined to relocate. The committee linked the shortage to difficulties recruiting and retaining staff for hospitals, military families, first responders and other shift‑work jobs.

The resource guide is organized in three parts: information for families on how to find and evaluate providers; training and business resources for providers; and a step‑by‑step checklist for people considering starting a childcare business. The document draws primarily on materials from the North Dakota Department of Human Services and adds links to state programs, business training run by the Women’s Business Center in Bismarck and loan programs with reduced rates.

Committee members stressed that licensing gives providers access to multiple supports, including food‑program reimbursements and some training grants. Mikaela, identified by the committee as a former licensed provider, said licensing requires home inspections and paperwork but brings reimbursements for items like childcare furniture and meals. A committee clarification cited state rules that allow unlicensed in‑home care for up to five children, or three children under age two; anything beyond those limits requires state licensure.

Alderman Olsen and the presenters urged the city to consider roles it can play without becoming the sole solution. One example raised is a Century Code authority that allows municipalities to exempt childcare centers (not in‑home providers) from property taxes; city staff present confirmed the statutory exemption applies to centers only. The committee said it is not asking the city to “solve all the childcare issues” but wants the city to consider whether and how it should participate in solutions.

Committee members also described local and regional approaches that have worked: micro‑grant programs to help small providers buy equipment, and, for larger needs, public‑private partnerships to build dedicated childcare facilities (presenters cited Watford City and Stanley as regional examples and noted a planned Minot State University–Mid West Montessori partnership on public property).

The presentation closed with an invitation to the Economic Development Plan Review Committee to continue discussion while the childcare committee refines proposals. “We’ll bring solutions to council when we have recommendations the committee believes the city should consider,” Olsen said.

Questions from committee members focused on licensing thresholds, costs, zoning limits for in‑home care and possible funding sources. City staff explained that some entitlement and disaster recovery grants would not be eligible for childcare without plan amendments, while other CDBG (Community Development Block Grant) or entitlement funds might be eligible but are limited in scale.

The committee agreed to circulate the new resource guide when it goes live and to keep the Economic Development Plan Review Committee updated on actionable recommendations.

Ending: The childcare committee left the meeting after the presentation; the Economic Development Plan Review Committee proceeded to other agenda items, including review of the draft economic development plan.