Sen. Ernst talks child care during stop in Fairfield

FAIRFIELD – U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst was in Fairfield Thursday afternoon to talk about child care with local stakeholders.

Fairfield Economic Development Association Executive Director Josh Laraby assembled a group of development association board members, representatives from Early Childhood Iowa and others involved in child care to meet with the senator and bring her up to speed on recent developments.

An organization called Jefferson County Kids is planning a 14,000-square-foot facility which can hold up to 185 children at its peak. It will be on an empty lot on Libertyville Road on the south side of Fairfield. In June, the organization announced it had raised $2.7 million of its $3.5 million goal.

Ernst said child care is badly needed across Iowa, and she has put forward a couple of bills in the Senate to help address the problem. One bill, co-sponsored with Sens. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Dan Sullivan of Alaska would provide states with grants to increase access to licensed child care services where there is a shortage, known as 'child care deserts.” It would support the training and education of caregivers.

Another bill Ernst has proposed would allow churches and other organizations to take advantage of the Small Business Administration loans to develop their own child care centers.

'I'm very hopeful we can get these over the finish line,” Ernst said.

Ernst said the project Jefferson County Kids is pursuing is a great example for other counties. She said it's great to see so many private donations helping to push the group toward its fundraising goal. Ernst said she's doing what she can at the federal level to support these projects with grant opportunities.