By O. Kay Henderson (Radio Iowa)
Governor Kim Reynolds yesterday unveiled a state website that lists child care openings.
“It’s a convenient tool that will help working parents navigate their child care decisions faster and easier than ever has been possible,” Reynolds said yesterday morning during a news conference in her statehouse office.
A couple of years ago, the state created an online platform that licensed child care providers could use to track enrollment and manage payroll. The governor said the 3500 child care providers using that system are now part of this new website that shows child care openings and the range of services provided. “Information that really has never been aggregated or come together in one place before,” Reynolds said.
State officials believe Iowa is the first state to offer this kind of real-time data in one place online. The website is called Iowa Child Care Connect. “For parents that are searching for options, the site can map locations of centers along their route from home to work and identify those with immediate availability or a waitlist,” Reynolds said. “It also can provide a side-by-side comparison of multiple providers.”
The price for child care is not included, but the site’s designed for smart phone use, so parents can click on a phone numbers and call a provider. Iowa Department of Health and Human Services director Kelly Garcia said the site gives parents a way to drill down into the types of child care available nearby.
“It is refreshed daily, so it is nearly in real time,” Garcia said. “…Child care is absolutely a necessity. It gets people to work, but not just for them, but for the livelihood and development of their own children.”
Governor Reynolds said she and other policymakers will be able to use the website to pinpoint communities that are child care deserts. “We’ll learn as we continue to use it and continue to build it out,” Reynolds said, “maybe what are some things we’re missing that we can maybe pull in and have that be part of the conversation.”
For example, Reynolds said they may discover unmet demand for infant care.
