JCHC donates land for new child care center

FAIRFIELD - The Jefferson County Health Center (JCHC) has approved a 3.59 acre land donation to local nonprofit Jefferson County Kids, Inc. The site, located to the west of the health center's campus, will be used for a new child care center.

The JCHC board of trustees approved the donation following Jefferson County Kids' identification of the site 'as the preferred location for the center,” according to an advisory released by the Fairfield Economic Development Association (FEDA) on Monday.

In the release, JCHC's board of trustees Chairwoman Renee Rebling explained that the trustees were 'very happy” to donate the land needed for the new center to help address the county's child care shortage.

'We believe the location will be beneficial not only to the residents but also to the parents driving from other communities to work at our local businesses,” Rebling said.

Bryan Hunger, the CEO of JCHC, added, 'As an employer we understand and feel the strong need for more child care spaces in our community. After reviewing our future campus needs, we were comfortable with donating 3.59-acres of our total 48-acres for the new center. We are proud to be a community partner in helping remedy this workforce obstacle.”

Joshua Laraby, the executive director of FEDA, noted that fundraising for the new child care center will begin immediately in January. Depending on the success of fundraising, tentative plans include construction beginning in 2020 with the center itself opening in early 2021.

In collaboration with Early Childhood Iowa for Iowa/Jefferson/Keokuk Counties (ECI) and FEDA, Jefferson County Kids announced last November that they would be looking to add a child care center. The decision to provide a new child care center follows the county's efforts to address child care shortages, an process which began in 2017.

Board of Supervisors member Dee Sandquist noted that ECI helped fund an independent study that showed the county had a 500 spot shortage in child care. Both Laraby and Sandquist explained that a three-pronged plan was created to help address the shortage, of which the new center is the last phase. The first two phases included supporting existing centers and home providers with grant programs, as well as creating incentives for new home-based providers.

Laraby noted that 'child care is really a workforce issue, business issue and infrastructure issue.”

'Having child care available, we are able to attract and retain a workforce that we need, which allows the community an opportunity to grow,” Laraby said.