Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Childcare topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Dodge County extension highlights childcare gaps, proposes employee survey and work plan
Summary
Extension staff told the committee a county listening session found strong demand for early‑childhood support and identified workforce, capacity, and awareness gaps; staff will collect program-area work plans in April and add an interest survey for possible county/partner childcare options.
Patty Carroll, Dodge County Human Development and Relationships Educator, told the Conservation Extension Committee that notes from a recent community forum (39 attendees) show parents and early‑childhood centers need more foundational supports and that social isolation and workforce shortages are barriers to care.
"Parents are needing support and early childhood centers are needing support in helping to develop children birth to 5," Carroll said, noting Extension provides free, research‑based professional development and registry credits for early‑childhood educators.
Carroll described several concrete steps Extension is already taking: in‑person and virtual trainings tied to the state registry, a directors' caucus for early‑childcare operators, and an ongoing directors' survey that so far shows many prefer quarterly meetings rather than monthly gatherings. She said program-area educators will deliver written work plans to her in late April and that she will coordinate next steps with county staff (Andrew and Cameron).
Committee members pressed for local numbers and capacity details. Carroll said she does not have a specific count of children in childcare deserts immediately available but will obtain modeled estimates from the Applied Population Lab at UW–Madison and compile county‑specific information for the committee.
Members discussed multiple local responses already in motion: a large new child‑care center under construction in Mayville (committee members described it as a multi‑partner facility), school‑district 3K/4K expansions, and employer‑based care examples (several companies locally have on‑site childcare). Several members urged that Extension include an employee interest survey for county staff as part of a feasibility assessment; Carroll said she can design such a survey and work with human resources to distribute it.
The committee did not take a formal vote on a specific childcare policy at the meeting. Carroll said she will return with compiled forum results and the educators' work plan after April submissions.
