Dayton struggles with lack of childcare options

DAYTON—Who is caring for the kiddos when mom and dad go back to work, now that there are only two licensed daycare providers in Dayton, Susan’s Home Daycare and Demaris Daycare? Demaris Daycare is currently operating with only two students, a situation Sylvia Demaris hopes will change in the next month depending on her husband’s health.

Port of Columbia Executive Director Jennie Dickinson talk about the lack of daycare options at a community round table conversation, on Aug. 13. She said enrollment in local daycare centers declined this spring after parents chose to keep their children home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and they can’t operate if slots can’t be filled.

The manager of the Club, a grant driven after school recreation program for youth, has said they are not set up for childcare. Childcare centers have a whole host of rules and regulations they must follow, which The Club can’t possibly meet.

The Columbia County Health System has historically had difficulty recruiting and retaining staff because of the lack of available childcare options.

Help is on the horizon at CCHS.

A committee has formed to study the feasibility of providing childcare for their employees, keeping in mind there are three shifts to be covered at Dayton General Hospital and in the Booker Rest Home.

CCHS Human Resources Manager Laura Stevens serves on the committee.

“We are excited about the possibility of offering this opportunity, but we need to ensure it is cost-effective and will benefit the health system, and service our community.”

Paul Ihle, a CCHS community health worker, is also on the committee. Stevens said he is doing a fair amount of the legwork.

“There was no organizing idea of what childcare would best meet the needs of the Health System. It was our job to figure that out and make a proposal to the administration and board for their consideration,” Ihle said.

Ihle said he was first made aware about issues regarding daycare and was connected with childcare licensing agencies in his former job with the Dayton School District, where he served as an Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP )teacher, and family services coordinator.

Ihle is concerned that when the pandemic is over, and people return to work, there will be insufficient “slots” where children can receive care. He is also concerned about the high cost of daycare.

He said he recently read a report citing infant care in Washington State being more expensive than state college tuition.

“How can that fit a single parent’s budget?” he asked.

The committee has since learned it is legal to provide vouchers to offset employee’s childcare costs, and there are tax free methods to set aside wages for childcare expenses.

This week, the committee will submit a grant application, to the Washington State Dept. of Commerce, in partnership with other Walla Walla agencies, and local governments for the purpose of assessing community needs and looking at assets to help guide any decisions that are made.

Ihle and CCHS CEO Shane McGuire are also speaking with the CEO of another rural critical access hospital, which partners with the YMCA for childcare, to understand how that type of arrangement would work for CCHS.

“Could we hire a provider to care for children of staff instead of creating our own center?”

“There are more questions than answers, at this point,” Ihle said.

And the committee is nowhere near being able to say whether the child care they offer to CCHS employees, would be available for parents and their children who are outside the Health System.

Ihle has been checking out the former migrant Head Start program building on the east side of Dayton. He said the space is ideal for a daycare.

If he could wave a magic wand, he would secure a center where any child is welcome, and well cared for, and where staff made a decent wage, with paid time off, and had health care coverage. This would also be a place where parents could easily cover the cost of childcare and know with confidence that their child is happy and healthy while they are at work.

He said it would be nice if someone would look into the former migrant Head Start program building owned by the County and located east of Dayton, for a possible daycare center.