Bloomington Woman Plans to Open Inclusive Farmhouse Child Care Center

February 18, 2025

Original coverage in WGLT by Ryan Denham.

A Bloomington woman who’s run her own home-based daycare for over 20 years plans to break ground this spring on an inclusive child care center that will expand options for families with special needs. 

Molly Robinson hopes to open The Farmhouse Early Learning and Development Center at GE and Hershey roads as soon as fall 2025. They’ll be able to serve 100 to 120 children, far more than the 16 kids that Robinson can serve now at her home-based Molly’s Munchkins. 

That jump in capacity targets Bloomington-Normal’s need for more child care options. We’re thousands of slots short, by one estimate. Robinson’s wait list has been as high as 45 children.

“What we're finding is there's not a whole lot of availability or research done … for families that have kids that have special needs or need that extra support system,” Robinson said. “So, trying to implement that and finding a way to provide that service was a big deal for us.” 

What will set The Farmhouse apart, Robinson said, is its inclusivity. 

At her home-based business, Robinson said about 35% of her kids have some sort of need for early intervention services – with anything from Down syndrome to autism to hard of hearing.

The Farmhouse was designed to continue that emphasis. Classrooms will be physically larger. Children with or without disabilities will play and learn together within the same classroom. Teachers will adapt activities and the environment to meet the needs of each. 

“We’re creating a learning environment where all children, regardless of their abilities, their developmental differences or special needs, are welcomed, supported and given the opportunity to grow and thrive together,” said Robinson, who was a special education major at Illinois State University.

The Farmhouse will welcome early interventionists, including a 1,500-square-foot therapy room. Ivy Rehab for Kids in Bloomington plans to operate a satellite clinic at The Farmhouse, including services like physical, occupational, speech and feeding therapy. That’s tailored for those families who opt for private services rather than public schools after their child ages out of state-funded early intervention at age 3. 

Ivy Rehab for Kids owner Jillian McGriff said the therapy space will have things like large swings hanging from the ceiling for sensory regulation, equipment for kids working on walking or standing, toys, and smaller, more private side spaces. The therapists will go to the kids, not the other way around, she said. 

“This will help parents to be able to stay at work and do the things they need to do and know that their kiddos are getting the therapy they need while they’re working,” McGriff said. 

That emphasis on family-by-family needs is nothing new for Robinson. One of her biggest concerns transitioning from a home-based business to a larger center was retaining the personalized touch and family atmosphere that she felt typified Molly’s Munchkins, where parents literally drop their kids at her doorstep. 

A bigger challenge was how much it should cost, and what she’ll pay her employees to hire and keep them. 

“That is probably the biggest struggle that we’re going to have, and probably the scariest for me,” Robinson said. 

Child care is expensive. In McLean County, putting a baby in a child care center typically costs between $264 to $328 a week, or $175 to $191 for an older kid, according to a Birth to Five Illinois study. Home-based options are cheaper, and some assistance is available through the Child Care Assistance Program. The irony is that child care workers individually are notoriously underpaid – about $27,000 a year by one recent estimate – contributing to staff shortages that only exacerbates the care shortage. 

“We’re not rich, by any means. We’re using our life savings (on The Farmhouse),” Robinson said. “I’m willing to go the extra mile, but that means (there’s) an understanding of why our tuition is the way it is. Basically, it’s transparency, and I hope we can offer that.” 

Providers know that child care is just one expense that their families face, in addition to diapers, food, and medical expenses, said Melissa Breeden, regional council manager for Birth to Five Illinois for Region 17, which includes McLean County. 

“A lot of providers struggle with, how do I balance that in a way that doesn’t scare families away, but also keeps me successful as a business over time?” she said. “It’s a very difficult business to balance.” 

The best way to do that, Breeden said, is to have a good, strong mix of funding. 

“That’s state assistance as well as private pay,” she said. “Be inclusive so that your programs are equitable. But you do have to get creative with local grants, partnerships with local businesses. Businesses that would possibly create a scholarship program, so that if families are experiencing tuition hardship, that doesn’t fall on the provider.” 

That aligns with Robinson’s plan. But getting started hasn’t been easy. There’s been a “lot of no’s and doors closed in our faces,” Robinson said. They couldn’t find any startup grants or incentives to create more child care slots, despite the need. They got help from family and friends and, eventually, a bank. 

These dynamics are among the reasons Bloomington-Normal doesn’t see many new centers opening. Another challenge is that it’s very difficult logistically. 

“The process with (the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services) can be very overwhelming. It can take a lot of time, and I think people eventually move on or unfortunately give up,” said Breeden, who said the state’s new Department of Early Childhood is intended to make this easier.