FONDA — The Montgomery County Industrial Development Agency has been awarded a $270,000 state grant to support the development and expansion of child care services in the local community.
“Childcare options are critical for working families and we are looking at providing solutions and more options countywide,” County Executive Pete Vroman said in a prepared statement. “I know how expensive it can be to raise a family and add to that the rising cost of finding good, quality childcare, so parents can work, and it’s something we are committed to working on.”
The funding to the county was among $10 million in grants awarded to 12 workforce development projects through the Mohawk Valley Empowers program. The three-year initiative through the Mohawk Valley Regional Economic Development Council was launched by Gov. Kathy Hochul in order to strengthen the region’s workforce ecosystem in April 2024.
“Through the Mohawk Valley Empowers program, we are making strategic investments in programs that are tackling the unique workforce development challenges of the region to create new opportunities for more New Yorkers to succeed in the 21st century economy,” said Hope Knight, president, CEO and commissioner of Empire State Development, in a prepared statement.
Montgomery County plans to use the grant funding to jumpstart a program with a goal of creating 10 new family child care facilities strategically located to serve high-need areas in order to address existing gaps in services and provide affordable options for working families.
The IDA is partnering on the initiative with Wonderschool, a comprehensive provider of child care solutions through training and mentorship programs. The agencies plan to use their collective expertise in economic development, child care management, community engagement and regulatory compliance to support the project.
“This initiative directly benefits our business community because we have heard that some families are choosing between working and taking care of their children,” said Ken Rose, CEO of the Montgomery County Business Development Center, in a prepared statement. “There’s a significant need and we know that childcare is a reason why employers are having trouble hiring or keeping people on staff, so this was something that we felt was important.”
The initiative will focus on recruiting, educating, planning and establishing new family child care educators and facilities in the county in order to address the shortage of child care resources in the local community.
Project plans were developed following a child care feasibility study conducted by the county and Camoin Associates in 2020. The study found that increased child care options would benefit working families by removing barriers to employment, which would simultaneously support efforts to boost the local labor pool and economy.
