New ‘Birth to Five’ Report Highlights Gaps in Central Illinois Child Care

August 7, 2023

Original Coverage by Brett Brooks, M.A., PEORIA (25News Now)

The 2023 Early Child Needs Assessment measures what communities are doing to make sure kids get a solid foundation for life.

The report divides the state into 39 regions with Peoria County as its own and Tazewell, Woodford, and Mason counties combined to make up another.

Birth to Five regional managers say the biggest gap is in transportation from preschool to aftercare.

“We need transportation for all of the program. Not every family has a car they can transport their children to. We do need a diverse and fairly compensated workforce. That would help with the number of spots that are available,” Kari Clark, the Regional Council Manager for Region 48.

Birth to Five Illinois created a detailed report that covers how children are born and raised in Illinois.

In Central Illinois, many parents are struggling with affordable childcare options, transportation from school to daycare, and a continued statewide staff shortage.

“It’s reported that there are a lot of classrooms that are closed because they can’t find staffing for those and that would help the situation with the number of slots in the community.” Says Clark.

“72% of children in Tazewell, Mason, and Woodford counties do not have childcare slots so 72% of families cannot go to work,” explains Felicia Farden, the Regional Council Manager for Region 53.

Farden and Clark were part of the research teams gathering data.

They say during the pandemic many daycares started to see their staff numbers drop and wait lists to get into some increase.

“We have 2,662 spots for children, and we have 13,043 children. One of the main things with not having enough childcare is the staff. A lot of the childcare center directors were talking about the staff shortage and how to keep staff and what they can do to retain staff. We can add staff but without staff, they’re still closing schools,” said Farden.

Farden says because the region is mainly filled with rural towns, like many other families, she is struggling with daycare options and has to rely on extended family, “I have a special needs son, so the struggle is real. We rely a lot on family friends and neighbors.”

It’s more than just transportation, the rising cost of childcare is eating away at wallets.

In Peoria County, families are spending an average of $861 a month on full-time childcare.

In both regions, parents of children with disabilities are also struggling to find in-home care for their kids.

“We have an early intervention waitlist that is quite long, so families are waiting to receive services for their kiddos with developmental delays,” concludes Clark.

Now with this data, the Birth to Five Illinois team is exploring options to secure state and federal funding to assist in these areas.