Carroll Area Child Care Center requests funds to hire four full‑time staff to clear waiting list

Keeley Farah, director of the Carroll Area Child Care Center and Preschool, asked the board for FY26 funding to hire four full‑time staff and cover onboarding and training costs so the center can expand infant care and reduce a lengthy waiting list.

Farah said the center currently serves about 70 families encompassing roughly 115 children and is operating at about half of its licensed capacity (the license allows care for 213 children). She said the center employs 14 full‑time and 16 part‑time staff now and that hiring four additional full‑time staff would allow the center to provide care for 16 additional infants (staffing ratio for infants is one staff per four children). Farah told the board the center frequently must turn families away because it lacks trained providers, even though physical space exists.

Why it matters: Farah said there is a significant community need for childcare — she reported “over 200 children on our waiting list” — and explained that expanding staff capacity would enable more parents to work and support local economic development. The center asked the county for $5,000 as part of its request; Farah said United Way typically contributes about $2,000 and that the city has previously provided roughly $7,000. She said the county has provided up to $11,000 in prior years.

Farah described requested funds covering hiring, required training hours, fingerprint checks and the initial classroom onboarding period, which she estimated at one to two weeks for new hires. She gave examples of current tuition rates: infant full‑time care “in the $215 range,” preschool half‑day rates “around $200,” and before‑and‑after‑school weekly care at $100. Farah said the center conducts annual fundraising and estimates typical fundraising revenue in the mid‑five figures; she told the board that some years the center budgets $15,000–$18,000 in fundraising revenue and that smaller fundraisers also aim to contribute income.

Board members asked about local private support and Farah said local businesses and donors participate in an annual fundraising outreach. The board did not take an immediate vote on the request and said it will notify the center after FY26 budget decisions are finalized.

Ending: The center will receive formal notice of the board’s FY26 funding decision when the county completes its budgeting process.