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Livingston Chamber to host 'Let's Fix the Gap in Park County' childcare forum on Aug. 26
Summary
Leslie Fiegel of the Livingston Chamber of Commerce announced a countywide forum, 'Let's Fix the Gap in Park County,' on Aug. 26 to connect providers and employers with state resources and new funding mechanisms to address local childcare shortages and licensing barriers.
Leslie Fiegel, representing the Livingston Chamber of Commerce, urged county officials to promote a community forum called “Let's Fix the Gap in Park County,” scheduled for Aug. 26 at the Shane Center from 6 to 8 p.m. She said the event will bring speakers from statewide programs to explain licensing, funding and employer-based approaches to expand childcare.
Fiegel told commissioners the county faces a shortfall of licensed childcare providers: she described Park County as “running around 35%” of needed capacity in one portion of her remarks and later cited a Park County figure of 55% while describing statewide capacity as about 44% to 50%. She also said the county currently has nine licensed providers overall and only one licensed infant-care program. Fiegel emphasized that limited infant slots and low provider counts constrain workforce participation.
The forum, she said, will present practical resources: speakers from the state 0–5 program, a Gallatin/United Way funding mechanism and a local initiative called Futures Promise. She described an employer-based model recently used by a local hospital, where the business applies for funding and reimburses employees for full childcare costs, reversing a prior state program that had unintended incentives.
Fiegel listed local provider capacities in her remarks: one center with capacity of about 30, Elevate Montessori with 36 slots and a school-based program serving about 90. She said the forum will include childcare on-site to allow providers to attend in the evening.
The Chamber requested the county display the event flyer on county public screens; Fiegel said county staff (she referred to “Mr. Coleman”) indicated they believed that could be arranged. She closed by inviting commissioners and the public to attend and to share the event information.
The forum aims to connect existing providers, explain state licensing supports, and outline funding options for businesses and philanthropic partners that want to subsidize employee childcare.
