Two Carroll County child‑care centers request county support for FY27 expansion and one‑time needs

Carroll, Iowa — Two child‑care providers on the county’s agenda asked the Carroll County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday for modest county grants to sustain and expand local care.

Representatives of the Carroll Area Child Care Center said they are requesting $5,000 for fiscal year 2027 to expand their infant program. “These funds will allow us to support the expansion of our infant care program, which is currently in high demand,” said Huey Farah, who introduced the center’s request. Farah told the board the main site is licensed for 168 children, the preschool and school‑age site for 45, and the center currently serves about 70 families and roughly 126 children in total. The center proposes hiring four full‑time staff to care for 16 additional infants.

The board’s chair noted the county previously funded the center and reminded members that the FY27 budget process is just starting; no decision was made at the meeting.

A second provider, identified on the agenda as Bridal day care, asked for $6,000. The center’s representative told supervisors the money would cover recent one‑time costs — $2,000 to remove a dying front‑yard tree, roughly $800 to plant replacement trees and about $2,700 for four iPads that would be used for classroom and administrative purposes — and to help hire another full‑time employee to expand capacity from 38 toward an approved capacity of 46 children.

Board members asked routine questions about enrollment and in‑county versus out‑of‑county families; one supervisor noted past county support and said the requested levels matched prior help. The presenters emphasized that the centers support local workforce stability by enabling parents to stay employed.

Next steps: Supervisors did not decide funding at the meeting and signaled the requests will be considered during the FY27 budget process.